The Dawn Of A New Day
by Joanne Amelia
Summary: What if Jolie Potter never died? Severus, who made the wrong choice, changes everything on the night of Valentines. New problems arise, old fears washed away, bigger lies and more deception. And in Remus & Jolie's case... only the truth can save them.
1. Breathe

**This is the sequel to The Dark Side Of The Moon! If you've never read that story, then DO NOT READ THIS or else you won't get anything. =)) But for those who've read TDSOTM, enjoy the sequel. I promise it'll be a happier one. :)**

**Just so you guys know, our story begins on the night of the Valentines' Ball. In TDSOTM, remember when Severus was watching Jo and Remus kissing out on the grounds? Well, Jo's life rested on what decision Severus would make. In TDSOTM, he chose to follow Voldemort's orders and well, he killed Jo. But in this story, what if Severus made a different choice? Read on to find out. ;)**

* * *

1. BREATHE

"_None of us thought it was gonna end that way; People are people and sometimes we change our minds, but it's killing me to see you go after all this time."_

_- Breathe by Taylor Swift_

Severus looked out of the window. There they were—Jolie and Remus. Kissing. Severus sighed.

He was supposed to meet Lucius and Bellatrix here. They were going to fix out their plan on how Severus was to kill _her_. Jolie Potter.

…_kill her? _Severus thought. _How can I do something like that? I promised her. Friends forever._

He looked around as the silence enveloped him. He found his situation eerie. Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps; Bellatrix and Lucius coming, most probably.

_What am I going to do?_

Severus looked back out of the window. Jolie and Remus were still kissing. What now?

For the first time, Severus let his emotions get the best of him. He would usually set them aside and follow his head instead of his heart. Usually never concerned about others, this was the first time he actually felt undecided.

But Severus had to make a choice soon, before Bellatrix and Lucius found him waiting. And as he looked back to Remus and Jolie, who weren't kissing anymore and now looked like they were talking, he whirled around and hurried out of the room.

He panted slightly, looking only straight ahead and there was no sound at all except his footsteps echoing through the hallways. He was going to Jolie, but he didn't know why. He just… well, he just wanted to.

As he turned around a corner, he almost bumped into Jolie and Remus.

"Severus?" Jolie asked, a little taken aback. Remus looked questioningly.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "You look shaken—"

"I just—" Severus stuttered and blinked rapidly. This was the first time he saw Jolie up close ever since the Ball. In her black and blue dress, she looked beautiful. Her hair, as usual, was as shiny as silk. And her eyes… well, her eyes were just like James'.

"I—I wanted to see you," Severus answered lamely.

"Well, I'm here now," Jolie smiled warmly. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Nothing," Severus answered automatically.

And then, without warning, he hugged Jolie as tight as he could, clenched his eyes shut and whispered to her, "I promised."

When he let go, he felt as if a large lump in his throat melted away. He felt relieved. Then he turned around and left, with no recognition of a goodbye.

Once Severus was gone, Jolie turned her head to Remus, frowning. "Do you have any idea what that was about?"

Remus was utterly confused as well. "None. I've never seen Snape act like that. He's always so… I dunno, cold. Stiff. Shallow."

"Well, if you get to know him real well, he's more than that… deep down," said Jolie.

Remus shrugged, "Way, _way_ deep down."

He took her hand and they went back up to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

"Where is he?!" Bellatrix hissed at Lucius.

He rolled his eyes, "I don't know, Bella! Snape should have been here. I have the dagger he's supposed to use to kill _the Potter girl_."

"What is it that's so special with that dagger? It's too blunt."

"It's sharp enough," Lucius answered sharply. "This dagger has been charmed by the Dark Lord himself.

"You know shape shifters aren't easy to get rid of, Bella," Lucius said as he paced. "The Dark Lord placed a powerful charm on the dagger so that the first person's heart it will pierce through—no matter who that person is, no matter how powerful, no matter what kind of _abnormal _magical features he or she has—that person will die. There are no exceptions," he smiled slyly.

Bellatrix stared at the dagger and slowly, smiled back. "Lucius… what if… well, we have no proof that Severus will kill Jolie, considering how close they've grown. What if I, or you—?"

"No!" Lucius turned to Bellatrix. "We can't. The Dark Lord _specifically _said that Snape has to kill her!"

"Fine," Bellatrix sighed. "The battle will continue tonight. If it doesn't succeed… blame it on Snape," she said bitterly.

"The Dark Lord's life rests on Snape's shoulders. I don't know why he chose such a _foolish boy_ such as _Severus Snape…_" Lucius mocked Severus' name.

"We shouldn't question him! He knows what he's doing. The Dark Lord has never failed!" Bellatrix exclaimed to Lucius, as if talking about a loved one.

"Out of all the new recruits of Death Eaters, he _had _to choose Snape for this task. There as so many others who are much stronger than him—who are more than willing to kill Jolie."

"But we have to trust him, Lucius. He's our only chance."

"But what if she doesn't die?"

"Then it's either she tells us what was in her vision about the boy who will defeat the Dark Lord, or we kill her. Same goes for her friends."

"What do you mean?"

"_I mean, _Lucius, that I know Jolie Potter better than you do. She will do anything to save her friends—especially Remus Lupin."

There was a short pause and it was as if something clicked in Bellatrix and Lucius' brains. They slowly looked at each other and they knew they were thinking about the same thing.

Lucius looked thoughtful, "Remus Lupin, you say?"

* * *

Jolie and Remus were back in the common room early. In fact, they were the only ones there. They were snuggled up in one armchair in the corner of the room.

"Jolie," Remus called out silently.

"Hmm?" she snuggled closer to him.

"I love you."

Jolie laughed, "Of course you do—I love you, too."

"We'll always be forever, Jo."

"Forever is a long time."

Remus looked at Jolie thoughtfully.

"Do you remember," Jolie asked, "when we first met?"

And then they both laughed.

"That's impossible to forget," Remus replied.

"It seems like so long ago."

"Well, it's not."

"Time seems so fast—but when you look at it closely, you're not yet even halfway."

"Looking back, I find it hard to believe that we would end up like this."

And he kissed her quickly.

Jolie looked smug, "Well, I find it hard to believe that you find it hard to believe."

"You mean to say, you _knew _we would end up together?" Remus laughed.

Jolie rolled her eyes, "Why do you think I never gave up on you, Rem?"

"Because you fell _madly_ in love with me," he joked and Jolie slapped his arm.

And then there was a pregnant pause.

Remus sighed.

"What's wrong?" Jolie asked.

"I have a gut feeling… I dunno. I feel like something bad's gonna happen. It's weird," he frowned.

"What do you mean, something bad?"

"I'm not sure. It's just that the feeling's bugging me."

"Since when?"

"Since Snape."

"You mean earlier?"

"Yes."

"What would Snape have to do with anything?"

Remus shrugged and there was another moment of silence.

"Remus."

"Yeah?"

"If something bad does happen… well, let's say—if worse comes to worst. Like, uhm, when the time comes that I'm gone—" Jolie said, remembering what Professor Dumbledore last told her about being ready to face hardships, even death.

But Remus cut her off right away, "Jo, don't talk to me like that. That's not going to happen."

"I wish you're right, Rem. But _just say _that it does—"

"It's not! I'm not going to let anything—_anything bad—_happen to you."

Jolie just stared at Remus.

"I promise," Remus insisted.

"Remus, not all promises are meant to be kept."

"I'm determined to keep this one."

"But _death _won't be unstoppable!"

"Who says anything about death? Jo, why are you thinking that you're gonna die so soon?"

Jolie hung her head. She didn't know how to explain. It was all too complicated.

"It's not that I'm expecting myself to die soon," Jolie said slowly. "I'm just thinking that we… we have to be ready for everything. Especially hardships."

There was a short pause before Remus said quietly, "I understand what you mean."

"In case worse comes to worst, Rem. I'll never be gone. I believe in life after death," she said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"So do I," said Remus, "But you shouldn't worry so soon. We still have a long, full life, Jo."

Jolie placed her head on Remus' shoulder and took in a deep breath, "You never know, love."

* * *

**Okay, so I know it's still just ONE chapter. But I've only just started, be patient. ;) R&R and please bear with me. My sched's so hectic because of school. But I'll be doing my best to post future chapters as fast as I can. :)**


	2. Impossible

**hey guys, I'M SORRY if it took this long for an update. :) anyway, this chapter, if found a bit difficult to do. I hope you guys understand it. :D R&R! :)**

* * *

2. IMPOSSIBLE

Jolie and Remus went to their respective dorms soon after everyone else from the ball went back to the common room. It was a peaceful night. Jolie was sleeping deeply and soundly, her chest slowly rising and falling with every breath she took.

In her dream, she heard a howl.

She shifted her position so that now the moonlight hit her face. And then there was another howl.

She opened her eyelids half-way, still sleepy. And then a third howl came, followed by shouts and the sounds of spells hitting other things. Only then did she realize the howls weren't coming from her dream.

Despite her sleepiness, she bolt straight up. She knew it was Jacob. Still in her nightgown, she hurried to Lily's bed.

Jolie shook her wildly, "Lily! Lily, wake up!"

Lily's eyes shot open, knowing that something was wrong. The sound of the battle on the grounds got to her, "Jo? What's happening?"

"I'm not sure, Lil—but there's something going on outside, and I have a feeling it's not pretty—"

The two went rushing out of their dorms, and then they saw Sirius.

"Sirius!"

"We have to be quick—the members of the Order—we have to go! There's a battle on the grounds, a surprise Death Eater attack, but none of us know what they want. Dumbledore seems to know but he won't explain to anyone; says there's no time—"

Sirius said all this very fast. Lily replied frantically, "Are James and Remus awake?"

"Yes, I'm off to wake Cassiopeia—I have to go—take care—"

And Sirius left. Jolie's stomach felt like it was falling down. When Sirius said, "Dumbledore seems to know but he won't explain to anyone," Jolie had that gut feeling; that heavy feeling inside of her that was telling her (though not everything was clear)… this might be the end. This could be goodbye. She felt her eyes well up with tears.

"Jo!"

"Lily—sorry—"

"Let's go!"

Everyone was frantic with worry. Lily and Jolie weren't surprised when they saw that they weren't the only ones in their night clothes, hurrying through the halls to get to the grounds and join the battle.

That howl Jolie heard… she knew it was Jacob.

When Jolie and Lily burst out through the entrance hall, everything was chaotic.

Jolie saw Sirius and Cassiopeia battling a Death Eater. And then she ran to a big, bear-like wolf whom she saw was getting hurt.

"Jake!"

A deep wound on the side of the wolf immediately healed, but left a bright pink line on his skin.

"NOT JACOB, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jolie shouted to the Death Eater, at the same time, stunned him. She fell to her knees and hugged Jacob as tight as she could. She remembered the last vision she had: Looking at Remus who had a depressing expression on his face; both of them in the rain, sudden pain and everything going black.

Jacob whimpered and licked Jolie's cheek, trying to tell her that he loves her so much.

Jolie half-laughed and half-cried, "Jake, I love you too—"

Jacob let out a hard bark.

Jolie looked around and saw Fenrir Greyback advancing on Remus. She stood up, held her wand tightly and cast a jinx behind Greyback.

"Remus!" Jolie shouted, running towards him. She immediately gave him a quick kiss, yet it was full of love. "Oh my God, Remus, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Jolie, don't worry about me—STUPEFY!" He cursed the Death Eater who was advancing towards them.

"Jolie," he tried to get her attention, "Why are there Death Eaters here; what do they want?"

"Remus, Voldemort wants to kill me," Jolie said hurriedly.

And then it started to rain. Remus gripped onto Jolie tighter.

"Carlisle Cullen—I helped him escape Voldemort's murder," she explained. "I wouldn't give him the information he wanted about the boy who had equal power to defeat him, Harry—Harry Potter, Remus!"

He looked confused.

"Harry—?"

"Lily and James' son!" Jolie said through all the noise. "When Lily and James get married, they will have a son; his name will be Harry—"

"Is he here? Voldemort, I mean?"

"No, he's not here—but I bet you anything these Death Eaters are here on his orders!"

And then suddenly, Remus had this worried, frightened expression on his face. It was depressing.

_Oh, no, _Jolie thought to herself. She knew that expression. It was in her vision.

Lighting and thunder caused the heavens to tremble. People were getting hurt left and right, curses and jinxes were being fired everywhere in this battle. She stared into Remus' eyes as she felt her own well up with tears.

In a split second, she suddenly understood the vision she saw. She knew what was coming next.

Or did she? Jolie was waiting for the sudden pain which did not come. She frowned and was confused.

"I'm not letting anything bad happen to you!" Remus shook her.

Jolie was too busy staring into Remus' eyes that she was surprised to see it suddenly change expression. It widened, looking scared and in pain.

"Jo…" Remus whispered. He had been stabbed from behind by a Death Eater.

"Remus—no…" she sobbed. She was overwhelmed with too much emotion, that she felt she was going to explode any second.

"Get away from him, Malfoy!" another masked Death Eater shouted. It was Lucius who stabbed Remus.

Dark red blood was creeping up his shirt. Suddenly, Malfoy was blasted out of the way by the same Death Eater who shouted at him. Even though he had his mask on, Jolie recognized the voice.

"Severus?" Jolie asked while tears leaked out from her eyes.

Severus didn't answer but hurried to Remus and quickly pulled the dagger out. Remus didn't even make a sound but clenched his eyes in pain as he felt the blade slide through his flesh. He put a hand on the wound, somewhere below the chest and above the stomach.

He couldn't stand up straight anymore and just when he was about to fall to the ground, Severus supported him back to the castle, and so did Jolie.

Remus was blind and deaf from everything that was happening.

"Severus," Jolie panted, "I don't understand what's going on—this wasn't supposed to happen—"

Severus still had his mask on. When they finally reached the entrance hall, Remus slumped on the floor, his back against the wall. Jolie and Severus were on either side of him.

Not any second longer, James came busting in as well, "The others will be here soon," he told Jolie, "They're having difficulty getting the Death Eaters off their trail—_you!_"

He saw Severus with his Death Eater mask still on. James withdrew his wand.

"No!" Jolie shouted. "James, call Madam Pomfrey, quick!"

"But—"

"Trust me!"

James did not look anywhere near convinced but he left to call Madam Pomfrey anyway. He had no choice but to trust his sister now.

Jolie put a nervous hand on Remus cheek. Strangely, he smiled at her, calming down. "I'm fine."

"N-no, you're n-not," Jolie sobbed. She cast a spell on him that made the pain gradually go away.

Remus was breathing steadily now and he closed his eyes, still clutching the wound.

"We musn't move him," Severus said quietly.

Jolie's eyes were suddenly raging, and she pulled Severus' mask away, "This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"It was either you or him, Jolie!"

"_I'm _supposed to be in _his _place! None of this was supposed to happen to Remus!"

"That decision depended on me—"

"I can't let Remus die, Severus!" Jolie shouted angrily.

"He won't!" Severus shouted back. "The dagger Lucius thought he used was a charmed one—it would guarantee death. But he didn't use that. I switched the dagger with a normal one. The charmed one is with me."

From under his robes, Severus showed Jolie a dagger. "_I_ was supposed to kill _you_," he admitted shamefacedly. "I can't do that. I can't, Jo."

Remus' eyes opened. They heard Madam Pomfrey coming down the stairs with James.

"Mr. Lupin!" she exclaimed. "Get away, out of my way—"

She shooed Jolie, Severus and James away.

"Remus—" Jolie was still crying as she clutched Remus' hand.

"Jolie, please," Remus gasped, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," he smiled weakly.

James got Jolie's hand and told her, "Jolie, trust me. Remus will be fine. I've seen worse with him, especially during his transformations," he hugged her.

"No—" Jolie shook her head.

"You have to trust him, Jo."

"Tell Voldemort he's not getting what he wants!" Jolie turned around to Severus, still angry.

Only, Severus Snape was nowhere to be seen.

Everything was not going as it was supposed to. Something—or _someone_—had changed everything. Something, or someone, had prevented Jolie's vision from happening.

Jolie didn't know if what happened was good or bad.

Remus was strong—a simple stab wouldn't get rid of him that easily, Jolie knew that. And he looked like he was going to be fine.

But someone had changed destiny and fate.

And this was the first time.

* * *

**By the way, The Dawn of A New Day now has a teaser trailer! :) check it out: http://www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=19cVSnjtzis**


	3. Marriage

**no, no. remus is NOT going to die. :) and yes, snape was very, very strange in the previous chapter. for this story, he is one of the most complicated characters. and yes, remus'll probably be in a lot of trouble in this story.**

* * *

3. MARRIAGE

"Remus…"

"Go away."

"Come _on. _Wake _up_. It's noon time already, you know."

Remus' eyes quickly opened, "I've been in bed that long?"

"Yes," James rolled his eyes. "I mean, _seriously_, it's just a stab. And you've only got about seven stitches, I think."

Jolie slapped James' arm.

"Ow!"

"You say it as if it's an easy situation," Jolie told James.

"Hey," James pointed at her, "Don't deny that Madam Pomfrey rocks at it, okay?"

"Whatever," Jolie crossed her arms.

"Well, she does. I've never felt better," Remus laughed lightly and slowly sat up.

"Careful!" Jolie hissed at him.

"I'm _fine_," Remus assured her.

He looked around and saw Sirius, Lily, Jolie, James and a great big, bear-like wolf who was snoozing in a corner.

"Where's Cass?" he asked.

"She's left," Sirius answered as he yawned.

"Already?" Remus asked, disappointed.

Sirius nodded, "They left right after breakfast. You wouldn't wake up at that time yet."

"Dammit," Remus slumped on the hospital wing bed. "When do we get to see her again?"

"Summer, probably. We've invited her for the wedding," Lily smiled and so did James.

"Wedding?" Remus asked absentmindedly.

James chuckled, "Seriously, Moony, have you forgotten everything in one night?"

Remus blinked and there was a moment of silence before he exclaimed, "OH! Your wedding with Lily! God, _how could I forget?!_"

"I call best man!" Sirius and Remus said at the same time.

"No, I do!" Sirius thumped his fist on the table in a dramatic way.

"You're _both _my best men," James rolled his eyes.

"Quit doing that, James," Lily sniped, "I can almost _hear _your eyes rolling!"

"You can have two best men?" Remus asked.

"Of course you can! Well that is, if the groom's fortunate enough to have so many best friends," James looked smug.

"We _have _to plan this out," Jolie said excitedly, "I want the _best _wedding for you guys," she put her arms around Lily and James.

"I can't believe you're getting MARRIED! You're both so OLD!" Remus teased.

"Hey," James replied defiantly, "You wait till you and Jo get married, I swear, you'll understand—"

"Lily, when are you getting your dress?" Jolie asked, cutting James off in mid-sentence, as if she didn't hear a word he said.

"I'm not so sure—" Lily answered slowly but her eyes twitched to Remus and James.

"Let's get going now," Jolie stood up and held onto Lily's wrist. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend, we shouldn't be cooped up all day—"

And the door to the hospital wing slammed shut.

Sirius and James stared at Remus.

"What?" Remus asked defensively.

"Are you gonna ask her or _not?_" Sirius shook his head.

"I'm—not now," Remus stuttered.

"Then when?" James and Sirius demanded loudly.

"Look," Remus sighed, "as much as I want to marry her, I just can't find myself to ask her."

"But _why not?!_" James asked stressfully.

"Because of what—I—am!" Remus answered through gritted teeth.

James and Sirius groaned.

"Moony," Sirius said, "Do you want to grow up as an old bachelor or something?"

"If I marry her, Padfoot, she's going to become an outcast! People like me are not supposed to—to _breed_—"

"Who says anything about breeding?" James pushed his glasses into a better position, "If Lily wanted to _breed _with me—"

"Shut up, James, that sounds wrong," Remus cringed, "You guys know what I mean. I bet you anything—if Jolie and I get married, she's gonna want kids."

At Remus' words, Jacob looked up.

Suddenly, Sirius and James burst out laughing.

"But, _Remus_," James chuckled, "You're so _fond_ of children."

"That's because I know I can never have any."

James shook his head, "You know that's not true. You CAN have kids if you just allowed it."

"This is so weird," Sirius said, "We're seventeen and we're talking about having children—"

"I'm eighteen," Remus reminded him.

"Yeah, but that's just you," Sirius waved an airy hand.

"Well, how about _you_, then, Sirius?" Remus asked. "Why haven't you asked Cass to marry you?"

"Can you _imagine _me as a groom?" Sirius asked in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

"Are you _saying _that you don't want to marry her?"

"I'm _saying _that marriage has never crossed my mind, or Cass' mind, for that matter. We're very innocent."

"Oh, _of course you are_," James rolled his eyes again.

Then there was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of the hospital wing door creaking open.

"This door needs a little bit of oil," the three Marauders heard Dumbledore's voice, "Good afternoon. I thought I would find you three here."

"Professor Dumbledore," Remus said, "Good afternoon to you too."

"It is quite good to see that you are doing better, Mr. Lupin."

"Oh, he's been through worse, sir," Sirius laughed.

"And I apologize for interrupting your conversation. I'd like to inform you that your chat about marriage could be heard across the hall outside," Dumbledore said with that usual twinkle in his eyes.

James smiled enthusiastically and Sirius laughed again.

"You are getting married with Miss Evans, is that correct, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore nodded but looked as if he knew that James and Lily were bound to marry, "Years of hard work do pay off."

"And we were just telling Remus here, Professor, that he should ask Jolie to marry him before someone else—" Sirius was cut off by Remus shaking his head.

But, too late, Dumbledore already knew what Sirius was talking about, "Yes, Mr. Lupin, why not—?"

"I can't, Professor," Remus smiled bleakly. "You know my reasons."

"Personally, Mr. Lupin, I would be happier in knowing that there was just a little more love in the world," Dumbledore peered at him through his half-moon spectacles.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "Going on to more serious matters about last night; I know that all of you are aware of those who were part of the battle yesterday—"

"Severus Snape, sir—"

"Please let me finish, Mr. Potter. I wish that none of you will bring up the topic of the battle publicly—"

"But _sir, _even Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black—"

"Yes, I know, Mr. Black. Please let me finish. As I have said, please do not talk about what happened last night in public. Everyone knows that Mr. Lupin was injured, but not everyone knows who did it. Not everyone knows why.

"Only seven people know why, and that includes myself and your sister, Mr. Potter."

James frowned, "Who are the other five, sir?"

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Black, Mr. Snape, Voldemort himself, and Mr. Lupin here," Dumbledore smiled calmly.

"Me?" Remus asked, confused.

"Yes, you, Mr. Lupin. I believe that Ms. Potter told you quite a bit of information last night," Dumbledore peered at Remus again and it gave him the feeling of being x-rayed.

Remus frowned but remembered.

"_Jolie," Remus said, "Why are there Death Eaters here; what do they want?"_

"_Remus, Voldemort wants to kill me," Jolie said hurriedly. "Carlisle Cullen—I helped him escape Voldemort's murder. I wouldn't give him the information he wanted about the boy who had equal power to defeat him, Harry—Harry Potter, Remus!"_

"_Harry—?"Remus asked, confused._

"_Lily and James' son! When Lily and James get married, they will have a son; his name will be Harry—"_

"_Is he here? Voldemort, I mean?"_

"_No, he's not here—but I bet you anything these Death Eaters are here on his orders!"_

"Uhm," Remus said uncertainly, "I think so, sir."

"I am asking you both however, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, do not ask anything about this to Jolie at the moment. She has too much to handle, she is just not saying anything."

"Professor," Sirius asked, "How about Lucius, Bellatrix and Snape?"

"Yes?" Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs.

"Well, aren't you going to expel them?"

"I will do no such thing," Dumbledore answered calmly.

"But, sir, they're part of—"

"Ah, too late, Mr. Black! It seems I have to leave; I have an important meeting with the Minister in a few minutes. Till next time," Dumbledore smiled and then left.

"This is so unfair," Sirius said. "Dumbledore just left us hanging."

"He has his reasons," Remus said.

"But I don't understand—" James said.

"None of us understand him completely," said Remus, "All we can do is trust him."

There was a moment of silence and James sighed before saying, "But seriously, Remus. You have to ask Jolie to marry you soon."

Jacob barked in approval.

* * *

**so do you guys want jo and remus to be married in this story? after all, this is supposed to have a happier plot. ;)**


	4. Plans and Findings

**updates are taking a bit slow, sorry! first off, there's so much school work. second, this HUGE storm just came and caused disaster all over our country. DAMN YOUUUU, STORM.**

**anyway, i've been doing a bit of research about lily and james so that i would have an easier time creating their story. however, there are a few changes about them. from what everyone says about james, he seems to be such a naughty boy but he "deflated his head a bit" in seventh year. Well, in my story, he's not as bad as everyone says he is. Some say he was also somewhat cruel, but in this story, he's not. And he didn't only deflate his head a bit when he started dating lily, he deflated his head A LOT. also, it's a fact that he was head boy in his seventh year but in my story, Amos Diggory's the head boy (this was mentioned in the early chapters of The Dark Side of The Moon). There are, i think, no changes about Lily's character. :) their marriage wasn't this early, but i want it to be. :) but the date of harry's birth won't be affected. also, in the book, only sirius was the best man for the potters' wedding, but it my story, i just cant bear it to be just sirius. :))**

* * *

4. PLANS AND FINDINGS

"Jolie, how about this one?"

"Yes! Perfect," Jolie grinned. "It's so beautiful, Lil."

After trying on five wedding dresses, Jolie and Lily finally made up their minds on the sixth dress. They were in the same store where they bought dress robes for the Valentines' Ball.

Lily was standing in front of the huge mirror with a dreamy expression on her face, unconsciously smiling at her reflection. There was something about this mirror that made it seem special.

Lily indeed looked even more beautiful in the wedding dress. She couldn't believe she was getting married! And at such a young age as well.

The silk dress was strapless, with small pearls and tiny crystals embedded and sewn hard and taut on it. It also had a voluminous floor length skirt with a very thin, translucent silver layer over it. The dress would sparkle with every move Lily made, catching all the rays of light.

"One last thing, Lily," Jolie stood up and took something from inside the box of the dress.

Jolie walked towards Lily and placed a veil on top of her head, silver and translucent, similar to the top layer of the skirt. It also had minute pearls and crystals sewn on it, scattered, so that the veil looked like it had droplets of water on it.

The plump, kind, old witch who was managing the store today walked in the room.

"Lily, dearest," she said in a mother-like tone, "that dress is perfect for you."

"She's right, Lil. And _I'm _going to do your make-up for the wedding. We can get Cass to do your hair, she's excellent in those kinds of things," Jolie said as the witch waved her wand and Lily was in her casual clothes once more.

The dress and veil magically folded and placed themselves inside the box neatly.

"I want you to be my maid of honour, Jo," Lily said as her eyes became a little watery, all because of happiness.

"W-what?" Jolie said, dumbstruck.

Lily nodded, "That's right."

"Oh, _Lily! _I would be honoured to be your maid of honour," Jolie laughed and Lily laughed with her.

"And I want Cass to be one of my bridesmaids. I'll send her a letter about it later today."

The dress was paid for and then the girls left the store, saying thank you to the kind witch.

Lily asked as they were walking down the streets of Hogsmeade, "Jo, why do have to plan out this wedding so soon? It's still February and I'm not getting married to James until June."

"It's important that a wedding is ready a few months before the actual date. I mean, especially if it's a big ceremony like this one. For one thing, we still have to decide on the guest list, the food, and the decorations. For another thing, we have to get someone who'll preside the ceremony, like a minister, and then we have to plan out the location, date and time, and then your honeymoon—knowing James, he'd cram about things like these."

"You're probably right," Lily laughed.

"_And _the invitations are important as well. And then there's still James' dress robes!"

"I think the actual planning should be done when James is around," Lily thought.

"Well, of course. He _is _the groom. Lily… are you going to invite Severus?"

Lily sighed, "I've been thinking about the same thing, too. I mean, Severus and I were really good friends before. When we were kids… everything seemed so much easier."

There was a moment of silence.

"But of course," Lily shrugged, "Even if I invite him, he probably wouldn't want to come. And James would never want him there."

"Are you still mad at him?"

"Yes… but not as much as before. I've learned to let go, even a little bit. You're good friends with him, right?"

Jolie nodded, "He's really nice," she smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. It was as if she was hiding something. Lily, however, wasn't looking at her.

Jolie, as much as she was trying to forget what happened the night of the Valentines' Ball, was still disturbed about the fact that Severus was one of _them. _Since the fourteenth of February, she hasn't seen or heard from him. She was beginning to think that Severus was avoiding her.

As soon as they arrived back in Hogwarts, they started looking for James, Remus and Sirius.

But along the way, they bumped into Peter Pettigrew.

"Peter!" Lily exclaimed, "Hey."

"Hello," Peter greeted them back in a small voice.

"Have you seen James and the others?"

"They're at H-hagrid's hut," he blinked rapidly as he tried to look at Jolie and Lily.

"Why aren't you with them, then?" Jolie frowned.

"I need to do other things," he replied nervously.

"Well… have you at least heard about me and James?" Lily asked kindly.

"Yes… you're getting married."

"You'll be invited," Lily patted his shoulder and he cringed a little.

"Th-thank you."

And then they parted ways.

"Weird boy," Jolie scoffed. She never really liked Peter as much as the other Marauders, especially when she had that vision about him selling Lily and James to Voldemort. Once again, her thoughts troubled her.

"He's just not that comfortable with people," Lily explained.

"He better have a good reason to be like that."

The two girls walked to Hagrid's hut and knocked at the door.

"Who's tha'?" They heard Hagird's booming voice.

"It's us, Hagrid! Lily and I," Jolie answered back.

"Come in, ya two! Come in!" He opened the door and let the girls in.

"Lily!" James stood up from his chair and kissed Lily as if he hasn't seen her for a century. Jolie shook her head at how corny her brother was.

"James!" Lily laughed.

"Can't believe yer gettin' married! And when yer both so young, too!"

"Have you invited Hagrid, James?" Lily asked her fiancée as Hagrid gave her a massive bear hug.

James rolled his eyes, "Of course, I have, Lily."

"James," Jolie put her hands on her hips, "Your wedding has to be—"

"Planned out, I know, I know," James chuckled. "Why so soon, though?"

"Because it's important to be ready early," Lily answered him.

"Well, I personally want the wedding to be not that loud. I mean, with that You-Know-Who crisis going on," James shook his head, "It should be a bit quiet. What do you think, Lilykins?"

Lily thought for a while and then slumped on the couch next to Hagrid's big dog, Fang, who immediately put his head on her lap, "I think you're right. It should be quiet."

"Tell you what," James said as he leaned on his chair, "We'll start planning next weekend, okay? As in, serious planning."

"Okay, okay," Lily waved an airy hand and patted Fang's head.

"Guys," Jolie frowned, deep in thought, "Have you seen Jac—uhm. I mean, a russet-coloured wolf?"

Hagrid raised his head.

"No," James, Remus and Lily all said together.

"I've seen one," Sirius said, playing along. He knew Jolie was talking about Jacob.

"Where?"

Sirius stood up and said, "Come with me."

* * *

**i smell trouble. don't you?**


	5. Vertigo

**i'm in a good mood, so i've done two updates in one day. \:D/ hahaa. hope you guys understand this chapter. ;)**

**honestly, i've always like the connection between jo and sirius. it's a deep friendship. besides, out of all the marauders, only sirius is jo's friend. think about it: she doesn't like peter, she's related to james, and she's in love with remus. who's left? /:) that's right, it's sirius. they're like... best friends. only, unofficial. i dunno, it's hard to explain. **

**just to make it clear, YES, jo and lily are best friends and YES, jo and snape are also best friends. but what do you think? after all that's snape's done, is there still a chance for him and jo to make up? or will their friendship just crumble to pieces like what happened to him with lily not so long ago?**

**There's a line in this chapter that says, "They [Sirius and Jo] stared at each other, remembering things." Well, look at the start of the chapter, I've put in lyrics of a song. I think that song fits them best right now. :)**

* * *

5. VERTIGO

"_When I look at you, I see forgiveness, I see the truth. You love me for who I am, like the stars hold the moon. Right there where they belong, and I know I'm not alone."_

_- When I Look At You by Miley Cyrus_

"Where is he?" Jolie asked Sirius as they walked out of Hagrid's hut.

Sirius led her to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and pointed to a small trail.

"Jacob told me to tell you to meet him in the Forest. He said to just follow the trail until you reach a withered tree next to a dead stump. He'll be there."

Jolie didn't move.

"Sirius… I don't really feel comfortable going into the Forest all by myself."

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Memories," she admitted.

"Such as?"

"The day I first went to Hogwarts. That rainy night when you, James and Peter found me here."

There was a short pause before Sirius said, "Tell you what—I'll just accompany you to the forest, okay?"

"Thanks."

They walked a little bit in silence and then Jolie said, "Remus has been a bit… I dunno… quiet."

"He's just nervous and unsure about things," Sirius smiled mischievously, careful not to give anything away.

"Sometimes," said Jolie, "I would wonder what it would be like to be in James and Lily's shoes. They have a perfect relationship. No problems."

"That's just now," Sirius laughed. "You should've seen them before. They were like cats and dogs. Not a moment of quietness when you have both of them in the same room. Are you saying that you and Remus have problems with each other?"

"No, not with each other. With other things. Example, the night of the Ball," Jolie sighed.

"James and Lily may seem perfect… But I doubt they are. Everyone and everything's got imperfections. In fact, you and Remus seem perfect to us, you know."

"James is all I have left," Jolie muttered.

Then there was another moment of silence.

"I miss my family," she whispered, "I just don't say much… because I don't want you guys to be disturbed by my problems. They're more than you think."

"I know. Dumbledore said so."

"What do you mean?" Jolie looked at Sirius.

"When you and Lily were out earlier, Dumbledore did a little briefing. You know, about what happened during the night of the Ball."

"You know?"

"Yes. But don't worry. I'm not going to ask you anything."

Sirius stopped and pulled Jolie's wrist.

"But I do have just one question," he said ironically.

They stared at each other, remembering things. Sirius took a shallow breath and asked, "Do you still trust Snape?"

Jolie's lips parted. "I honestly don't know the answer, Padfoot," she smiled weakly.

Sirius let go of her wrist and took out something from his pocket, "Well, tell me when you do. Here you go," he gave her a chocolate frog.

"Thanks," Jolie chuckled at his randomness, "You keep these in your pocket?"

"You never know when you might want one," he shrugged as Jolie put the sweet in her mouth.

They walked a little bit further and then stopped at the withered tree next to the dead stump.

"We're here," Sirius ran a hand through his hair, making his handsome features more pronounced, "Jacob should be here somewhere, but not that far though, maybe he just—"

Sirius wasn't able to finish his sentence because Jolie suddenly leaned against a tree and hurled.

"Jo!" Sirius went up to her, nervous, and patted her back.

Jolie clutched her stomach which was turning and coughed. She took out her own wand and muttered, "Aguamenti."

She drank fresh, cold water and Sirius frowned, "What just happened to you? Are—are you feeling alright?"

"I'm feeling a bit weird—"

"Jo?" Jolie and Sirius heard Jacob's voice.

Jacob was by the withered tree, wearing a concerned expression on his face.

"I'm okay," Jolie lied.

"You sure?"

She nodded but Jacob was certain that she wasn't entirely telling the truth.

"C'mon, Jake," she walked up to him, "Why did you need to see me here?"

"I just wanted to say goodbye. I have to go back to the Reservation."

"Aw, Jake!" Jolie said, disappointed. The fact that Jacob was secretly at Hogwarts was beginning to grow on her.

"Don't worry," he hugged her, "I'll see you when summer comes. Dad's already furious about me being here."

"Write to me, okay?"

"Of course."

"When are you leaving?"

"Right now."

"Whomping Willow passage?"

"You bet."

"I'll come with you," Jolie said.

Jolie, Sirius and Jacob walked out of the Forbidden Forest. When they reached Hagrid's hut, Sirius said, "I'll just see you back in here, Jo."

"Okay, Pad," Jolie smiled and Sirius went back inside the hut.

When she looked back at Jacob, he had already transformed into his wolf form. They didn't say much to each other while walking. Jolie felt as if she would hurl again if she opened her mouth. When they reach the Whomping Willow, Jolie kneeled down and hugged Jacob, feeling the softness of his fur. He licked her cheek and Jolie said, "Take care."

And then he swiftly ran past the tree's whomping branches, into the secret passage and out of Hogwarts.

Jolie watched him go. Then, she stood up and turned around to go back to Hagrid's.

"Ow," Jolie's head started spinning at her sudden move, experiencing vertigo. She took a step forward, trying to put aside the dizziness.

Unfortunately, that was all she remembered doing. Because after that, everything just faded into blackness.


	6. A Sudden Change

**hey hey hey people. :) okay, so here's the sixth chapter, see if you can figure out (once more) what's happening. the previous chapter was just the start of the first conflict of the story. ;)**

**okay, so i know that tonks isn't in this timeline... but i HAD to change her age, just a little bit. :) and for your information, molly weasley's maiden name was prewett. alice longbottom's maiden name is unknown.**

* * *

6. A SUDDEN CHANGE

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Lupin. There's nothing wrong with her."

"What happened to her back there?"

"I can't be sure about that, but she's proven to be in good condition."

Jolie heard Remus and Madam Pomfrey talking. She had her eyes closed and her head, thank God, wasn't spinning anymore. She also didn't feel like vomiting either. She sighed to herself and then slowly opened her eyes.

"Rem?"

Remus rushed her side, "Thank God you're alright… Anything could have had happened to you—"

"I just fainted, I'm fine. Don't worry so much," she smiled.

"I shouldn't have left you alone," Sirius suddenly muttered loudly.

"Padfoot, don't blame yourself," Jolie said kindly. "Nothing bad happened, okay? I'm fine."

Madam Pomfrey was looking at her with knowing eyes. It was like she wanted to say something, but couldn't at that moment.

"Madam Pomfrey? Is it okay if I get dispatched from the hospital wing now?"

"Yes, of course. Anytime you're feeling better," she nodded.

"Thank you."

Jolie got off the bed and left the hospital wing with the others. As soon as they were out, Lily, Sirius, Remus and James started bombarding her with questions again.

"Guys, _seriously_," chuckled Jolie, "don't worry about me. I'm feeling alright."

"Okay, okay," her friends chortled and let it go.

"Okay, so. What are we going to do today?" Jolie asked, bored.

"It's a Sunday. So, _obviously_, our homework," said Lily.

"We've already decided on the guest list, by the way," James said proudly.

"Great! Who's on it?" Jolie asked James.

"It's not yet final," James said as they all went inside the Gryffindor common room and sat on the comfortable couches and armchairs, "but of course, you're on it, you're Lily's maid of honour. And Cass, Molly and Alice are the three bridesmaids—"

"Molly Prewett, as in Arthur Weasley's girlfriend?"

"Correction—Arthur Weasley's _fiancée. _Yes, her. And when I said Alice, I meant Alice Mason, Frank Longbottom's girlfriend," James said, and looked smug.

"Okay, okay," Jolie waved an airy hand, "Go on."

"Lily's parents, of course, though she's not quite sure about inviting Petunia and her huge boyfriend, Venice—"

"Vernon," Lily corrected James.

James continued, "Lily's two favourite cousins, the twins, Jenna and Janna are also invited."

And then Lily said, "Obviously, Frank and Arthur are also invited. Professor Dumbledore, surely. And Professor Horace Slughorn, he's always been a favourite teacher of mine—"

"You've always been his favourite student," Jolie laughed.

"Professor McGonagall's invited, too. That's untouchable, she's head of Gryffindor House," Lily said.

"Sirius and Remus, my best men," James said.

"What about Peter?" Jolie asked.

"Yeah, sure he is."

"Don't you think he'll feel… I dunno, a bit jealous since Sirius and Remus are your best men and he's the only Marauder who's not?"

"He never really liked parties, you know. If I asked him to be one of my best men, he'd probably bail on us," James shrugged.

"That's true," Sirius thought out loud.

"So, who else?" asked Remus.

"James' parents," Lily continued, "And Remus' parents as well."

"How about your parents, Sirius?" Jolie asked.

Sirius scoffed, "As if."

"He's got issues with them," Remus explained.

"My parents _disowned_ me," Sirius poked the coal in the fireplace.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone from your family to come, Sirius?" Lily asked kindly.

"Well, I guess Tonks could come. She's my favourite cousin. And her parents, Andromeda and Ted, too."

"Isn't Andromeda Bellatrix Black's sister?" Jolie looked at Sirius.

"Yeah, that's her. Older sister. They look a hell a lot like each other, though."

There was a moment of silence, only to be broken by Jolie.

"Jacob!"

"_Of course _he's invited," James rolled his eyes and laughed, "Even Uncle Billy."

"Wait a minute, _where _are you getting married?"

Lily and James looked at each other. Then Lily said slowly, "We were thinking of getting married in the church in Godric's Hollow."

"There's a church in Godric's Hollow?"

"Yeah, it's right next to the cemetery."

Then Jolie laughed, "You're getting married next to a cemetery? Seriously, guys—"

"Well, good luck finding a good wedding place in this time of the whole You-Know-Who crisis," James snapped.

"Yeah, well, good luck keeping your bride," Jolie chuckled and Lily laughed. James however, scowled at them.

"So, who's gonna preside the wedding?" Remus asked before James could talk.

"Yeah," James sighed, "_That's _something we're working on. We haven't found one yet."

"Well, you better do it faster then," said Remus, "How about the reception?"

"My house," answered James.

Jolie's smile faded away.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked her.

She shook her head, "Nothing, it's just—"

They all looked intently at her. She took a sharp, shallow breath and then said, "James' father. _My _father."

"He wants to see you, you know," James said and Jolie kept silent, "You can't be not ready all the time. There has to be a day when you'll meet him. And that's during the reception."

"I dunno, James…"

"C'mon, sis. Do it for me and Lily."

"Well—_fine._ Okay," she smiled weakly. "It _is _your wedding after all."

There was another pregnant pause and it seemed like all of them were sighing. Suddenly, Jolie said, "Is there any salmon in the kitchens?"

"What?" Sirius laughed.

"Salmon. In the kitchens."

"_Salmon?_" Sirius, Remus, James and Lily all asked laughing incredulously.

"Seriously, Jo," Sirius laughed, "_Salmon?_"

"What's so funny, you idiots?" Jolie laughed with them, "I'm hungry!"

"Well, of course, there's salmon. The Hogwarts Kitchens have everything," Sirius bragged.

"I want salmon. Let's go to the kitchens!"

Remus, Sirius, James and Lily all groaned. "We're too lazy to go there," Lily complained.

Jolie scowled at them and then demanded, "Get your butts off those couches and come with me to the kitchen!"

"Okay, okay. Jeez, Jo, just chill," James chuckled.

They all went out of the common room and the three boys started taking a route in the castle that Lily and Jolie didn't know of.

"And _how exactly _do you get to the kitchen?" asked Lily.

"You know the painting of the fruit bowl?"

"Yeah," Jolie and Lily answered.

"Tickle the pear and then it becomes a door knob."

"How do guys know how to get there?" laughed Lily.

"We did a lot of exploring with the invisibility cloak," Sirius winked.

"_They _did a lot of exploring," Remus chuckled.

"I am so _proud_ to know you, James," Jolie joked dramatically.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Jo? You're acting kind of strange," Remus laughed, half-nervous, half-amused.

"I'm _fine_," Jolie answered.

"Yeah, you kind of are," Sirius agreed and frowned. "First you hurl out my chocolate frog and faint… Then just earlier you _demanded _that we go to kitchens."

"I'm feeling a bit hyper," Jolie shrugged.


	7. No Boundaries

**the line in the song "no boundaries" that i've put at the start of the chapter is what fits severus, especially in this chapter. yes, this chapter has a very touching jolie/severus part in it. :) i hope you guys get what's up with the salmon thing... if you don't... well, i promise you WILL soon. ;) i've also put "No Boundaries by Adam Lambert" instead of "By Kris Allen", simply because i like Adam's version better.**

**Seriously, i thought he would win. :( But Kris is good too. :)**

**OH MY GOD! I just watched an interview of Gaspard Ulliel (You know, the guy I think could be James), and he has a HOT voice. :)) Strong french accent, though. WOWWW.**

* * *

7. NO BOUNDARIES

"_Nothing's gonna bring me down. I've jumped every bridge and I've run every line, I risked being safe but I always knew why. So here I am, still holding on."_

_- No Boundaries by Adam Lambert_

"Here we go," Sirius said. "You wanna tickle the pear, Jo?"

Jolie stepped forward and tickled the painting. The pear giggled and twitched a little before finally transforming into a door knob. "Oh my God, that's so cool," Jolie chuckled.

When they got in, Lily and Jolie didn't expect the kitchens to be _this _huge. Numerous house elves were rushing around.

"Good day, Master Mauraders, what can old Grib do for you today?" A short, female house elf bowed down to them.

"Ah, good to see you again, Grib!" James said pompously, "These fair maidens here are Lily and Jolie. Lily, my fiancée and Jolie, my sister. We're looking for some fresh salmon," he winked.

"Oh, come this way, this way, Master James!"

The house elf brought them somewhere deeper in the kitchen and then served a silver platter of kippered salmon.

Jolie gasped and then said, "Gimme that!"

"Share it, will you," Lily laughed. "You boys want some?"

"Nah, we'll look for something else. Like roast beef or something," Sirius said and left with Remus and James. "See you girls later."

Lily and Jolie continued to eat the salmon in silence before Lily suddenly said, "Oh. Dammit. Crap."

"What?" Jolie asked.

"It's a good thing my trousers are black… d'you have napkins with you?"

"Sanitary napkins?"

"Yeah."

Jolie shrugged, "Yeah, I have some. They're in the common room, though."

"I need some! I think I have my period today," Lily complained.

"Okay, okay. The pack's not even opened, I haven't used any yet. I should've had my period three days ago but—"

Jolie suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and frowned.

"Your period is probably just late," Lily shrugged.

"Yeah… yeah, you're probably right," Jolie shrugged it off as well.

"C'mon, Jo! I need napkins!" Lily stood up.

"Okay, I'm coming! How about the boys?"

"Ugh, leave them with their roast beef. I can't take this any longer—"

"Fine, let's go," Jolie laughed.

The two girls rushed back to their common room, and Lily kept on looking behind her, checking her trousers every now and then.

Jolie chuckled, "Don't let my brother see you like that."

"Whatever," Lily said.

When they got there, they immediately went to the girls' dormitory and Jolie got the pack of napkins and tossed it to Lily.

"Thanks, Jo," Lily rushed to the bathroom.

"I'll wait here. I still want that salmon!" Jolie hollered after her.

She lied down on her bed and closed her eyes. Suddenly, there was a tapping on the window. Jolie stood up and saw a huge, black owl carrying a small note in its beak. She recognized that owl—that was Erebos, Severus' owl.

Intrigued, she opened the window and let the owl fly in the dorm room. Erebos just stared at her with big, unblinking eyes as she took the note from his beak.

She rolled it open and recognized Severus' handwriting.

_Please come see me in the Hog's Head at sun down._

"Jolie?" she heard Lily call her.

Jolie looked up and saw Lily coming out of the bathroom. "Hey," Lily frowned as she looked at the owl, "that's Erebos."

"Yeah," Jolie said monotonously, "Severus sent a note."

"What does he want?"

Jolie handed Lily the note for her to read. Then Lily said, "You can't go there. You shouldn't trust him—after what he's done…"

"I know. But he's still one of my best friends… next to you and Jake, of course. I'm—I'm gonna go to the Hog's Head, okay?"

"What about homework?" Lily called after her, in a desperate attempt to make her stay.

"I'll catch up on Slughorn's essay," Jolie looked at her, "I'll be fine, Lily. It's Severus—I know he won't be able to do anything too bad."

Lily sighed and smiled bleakly at her, "I hope you're right, Jo."

Jolie looked out of the window—Erebos had already flown away and it was almost sundown. Jolie had just about enough time to go to the Hog's Head.

She left the Hogwarts castle in a rush, because she was anxious to see Severus and because if she didn't hurry, she would be late. Jolie took the fastest way to Hogsmeade that she knew of—the passage that led to the Shrieking Shack. Avoiding the Whomping Willow's branches, she remembered all of a sudden that it was full moon again tonight.

She walked slowly in the streets of Hogsmeade—she wasn't used to going here when night was near. But even then, she saw a familiar cloaked figure sitting inside the pub of the Hog's Head, Erebos perched on his shoulder.

She entered the pub and stood behind the man with the black cloak.

"Severus," Jolie called him.

He turned around and looked at her, but she couldn't see his face because of the shadows underneath his hood.

"Sit down, Jo," he said in a raspy voice.

She took a seat and then looked out of the window. It was already sun down.

"Why did you want to see me?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of him.

"I need to talk to you."

"Evidently," Jolie shrugged the obvious.

Then Severus took off his hood at looked into Jolie's warm, hazel eyes pleadingly.

"I'm so sorry," he begged.

Jolie felt her breath hitch in her throat. "Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" she asked in a choked voice, "You're supposed to be my best friend."

"Well, that's too bad," Severus whispered. "I don't deserve to be your friend, Jolie. What more if I'm your best friend?"

"Sev… don't…"

"But I still want to be," he said and smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Jo," he continued, "I'm so… so sorry. About everything. I'm stuck in a predicament that I can't—I can't handle," he put his head in his hands.

"Tell me, Sev," Jolie put a hand on his shoulder soothingly, "I'm here to help."

But Severus shook his head, "You'll only put yourself in even greater danger. But you have to know, you have to know! I need to warn you—"

"Just tell me what you need to say," Jolie glanced at the setting sun.

"You have to stay away from Lucius and Bellatrix at all costs, do you understand? All of you—Lupin, Black, Potter, you and Lily. Crucial information about the five of you—you have to keep it from them. Like about Jacob, they _can't_ know about him, okay?"

Jolie nodded.

"And you… having all those visions," Severus frowned, "Have you had any lately?"

"No," Jolie answered.

"If you do, go straight to—"

"Dumbledore. I know."

They looked at each other. Suddenly, Jolie said, "When are you coming back?"

Severus smiled, "Tomorrow. Don't worry," and then his smile faded away, "But you can't talk to me and spend time with me like you did before. If ever we do… it has to be in secret.

"Because if any of the Slytherins, especially Bella and Lucius, see us together, it's going to put both you and me in hot water," he said.

Jolie felt her stomach drop. _Ouch, _she thought.

"Whatever the Dark Lord wants from you, don't let him have it," Severus said.

"I won't," Jolie said firmly as she thought about her situation. She will never, _never_, let Voldemort know about Harry. Lily and James' wedding has to push through. They must have a son.

"If ever you get a chance to face the Dark Lord," said Severus, "close your mind _completely. _He'll try to get in your head, but it won't be that easy since you're a seer. So whatever you know about what the Dark Lord wants… you better keep it to yourself. Because if you let others know about it, then You-Know-Who will just target those you told."

Jolie's lips parted. _Remus knows about it_, she thought, _I told him during the night of Valentines._

"That is… if You-Know-Who finds out that others know," Severus said in a low voice, "Keep your friends close, Jo. Especially Potter and Lupin."

Jolie just nodded, suddenly scared.

There was a moment of silence, only to be broken by Severus once more, "Jo… I need to know…"

"What?"

"Lily and Potter. Is it true? Are they marrying?"

Jolie stared at him, curious at why he should be so interested in Lily and James' relationship. "Yes," she said slowly, "this summer."

A muscle in Severus' jaw twitched and he sighed. "Keep that a secret as well," he told her.

Jolie frowned at him, "What's the matter?"

He shook his head in denial, "Nothing."

But Jolie knew he was lying, "You love her, don't you?"

Severus looked at her with bloodshot eyes. Then he took out his wand and cast a patronus. To Jolie's surprise, Severus' patronus took form of a doe.

He really did love Lily.

"After all this time, Sev?" Jolie asked, touched.

"Always. Since the day I met her… we were so young back then," he whispered.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I was afraid that you might tell her… and now that you know it, please don't let her know. It's no use—she's marrying your brother anyway," he said bitterly.

"You never told her?"

He shook his head, "I'm not that kind of person."

"You're capable of loving, Severus," Jolie said kindly, "You just have to learn how to show it."

"She and I used to be best friends. And it's my fault, it's _all my fault _why she's not talking to me. I've tried everything to get a chance to make up to her. But she would just shrug me off, Jo."

"I can talk her into giving you a chance, Sev—"

"No. Thanks, but don't bother on it… It's not worth it. She would be much better without me. And she marrying Potter… I don't want to get hurt again," he said, not looking at her.

"Oh, Sev. I'm sorry," Jolie wrapped her arm around his neck and she was thankful he didn't jerk her off.

From out of the window, she saw that the sun had gone and that the moon was slowly shining into the night.

"Severus… I have to leave. It's full moon," she explained.

"Of course. I'll see you next time."

"Aren't you coming back to Hogwarts?"

"Not now," he stood up and they left the pub, "You go, Jolie. Be safe. Remember what I've told you."

"Yeah," Jolie replied as they hugged each other, the first in such a long time, so it seemed.

"Promise me," Severus said implicitly but he didn't need to explain. He knew Jolie understood.

"I promise, Sev," she looked at his dark eyes, "Friends forever."


	8. Mr Moony's Decision

**okay, chapter eight. :)) this chapter was one of the most difficult chapters to write... but it was also one of the most fun to write, especially the lily/james memory. :) hope you guys like it. R&R! ;)**

* * *

8. MR. MOONY'S DECISION

"_It's much too quiet in here; I wanna disappear, I'm hearing myself thinking too clear. It's too quiet in here; make it all go away, why can't we break this silence finally?"_

_- Quiet by Demi Lovato_

"Ouch," Sirius complained as Lily and Jolie supported him on the way to the hospital wing, "Why me? Whyyyyy?! Why AGAIN?!"

"Quit howling like a dog, Sirius, it's just a scratch," Jolie chided him.

"Just a scratch?" he looked taken aback, "Oh, no no no no no! This is a REAL broken leg this time!"

They had just come from Remus' transformation. James stayed to keep him company, but Sirius was badly injured by him, so both Lily and Jolie decided to help him out by bringing him to the hospital wing (Madam Pomfrey knew about Remus' condition and therefore was always alert during full moon for any injuries).

"Ah, well," Sirius shrugged, "Moony goes through worse."

Jolie looked at him. He continued, "His transformation are—are terrible. Turning into a werewolf is very painful, he's said it himself."

They arrived at the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey immediately attended to Sirius. Lily sat on a bed and waited while Jolie looked out of the window.

True enough, Jolie and Lily soon learned to be Animagi, though unregistered, just like the other Marauders. Lily turns into a doe while Jolie, a fluffy Persian cat. It was quite ironic for Jolie to be cat, considering that she turns into a wolf as well.

Jolie looked out of the window and saw James and Remus.

"You haven't talked to him much, have you?" Lily asked from behind.

"Who?"

"Moony."

"No, I haven't. I will, tomorrow. Can't bear it anymore."

"He's anxious, you know," Lily giggled a little.

"Why?" Jolie turned around to face her best friend, who just shrugged, not giving away anything.

"You'll find out. Soon," she sniggered.

* * *

The next morning was Monday. Lily, Jolie, Sirius, James and Remus were all awake already. Jolie was the first to go downstairs into the common room to wait for her friends… or so she thought—Remus was already downstairs as well.

"Jo," he greeted her with his usual hoarse voice (though it was hoarser now since it was morning) and looked at her with smiling eyes.

"Hey, Remus," she gently put her arms around his neck, "How are you feeling?"

"Real sore," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

He looked ill; his lips were pale and he had dark circles under his eyes.

Jolie played with his hair, purposely messing it up a little, before they both slumped down on the couch.

"The others are taking long," Jolie complained.

Remus sniggered and smiled mischievously, "Let them take long," and he kissed her.

There was that feeling again—that feeling when they first met, the one that would send shivers down their spine, the feeling that would make them uncontrollably smile.

Remus pulled away and muttered playfully, "Thy lips are warm."

Jolie raised an eyebrow and said, "Shakespeare?"

Remus nodded, "Lily and I love Shakespeare—especially when we were in fourth year. But of course, she still disliked James at that time," he laughed.

"I was the only Marauder she got along with during those days," he continued, "James creeped her out, Sirius turned her off and there was no awkward moment when Peter would be in the picture."

"How did you guys become friends?"

Remus shrugged, "Prefect-ism."

There was a change of mood and Jolie said while putting her head on Remus' shoulder, "Oh, Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

Remus chuckled and let Jolie continue, "Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn, my love… and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

She kissed him swiftly on the lips and Remus raised his eyebrow, "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

"Thou two lovers shall shut thy mouths and accompany thee to breakfast downstairseth," Sirius called out. They were all ready to go.

"Seriously, _Sirius, _pick a better moment to ruin," Jolie rolled her eyes and stood up.

The moment she was on her feet, her eyes widened and she put a hand to cover her mouth—she felt like hurling again. Luckily, the feeling ceased.

"Whoa," Remus put a hand around her waist, "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied quickly.

As they went to the Great Hall, Jolie kept on wondering what was wrong with herself. What was with all the urges to vomit?

They took their seats on the Gryffindor table and saw that the breakfast was lox salmon.

"Awesome, salmon again!" Jolie exclaimed and James eyed her.

"What is it with you and salmon?" he frowned but Jolie just shrugged.

"James," she said, "I wanna know some stories—about you and Lily. Before, I mean. When you guys weren't dating yet."

Remus, Sirius, James and Lily all laughed.

"That's gonna be interesting, trust me," Sirius said through his bark-like laugh. "What the heck made you want to know?"

Jolie said, "Earlier in the common room, Remus mentioned a few things about Lily before she started dating James."

"Oh, I know!" Remus said pointedly, "Tell her about the one with Molly and Alice in the common room, when we were in fifth year."

James and Lily looked at each other.

James smiled at Jolie and then said, "You wanna know that one?"

Jolie nodded.

"Okay," said James, "well, what happened was…"

_Lily, Molly and Alice were seated one night in a cozy, far corner of the Gryffindor common room. To Lily's dismay, the Marauders were seated on the other far corner, opposite them._

"_Molly, Alice," Lily whispered, "let's go somewhere else. Marauder ala Trouble is here."_

"_Relax, Lils," Molly said, "Just ignore them."_

_Lily glanced at Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, who were all playing a game of exploding snap._

"_Well, fine," Lily gave in._

"_Okay," said Lily, finally using her normal voice, "so, next question…"_

_She glanced at the piece of parchment she was holding._

"_What would you prefer to call me in one word?" she asked Molly and Alice._

_Molly joked, "Know-it-all!"_

"_That's not even one word!" Lily laughed and slapped the parchment on Molly's arm._

"_Red," Alice said thoughtfully._

"_You lie!" Lily stuck out her tongue at Alice._

_Suddenly, James Potter intruded the girls' conversation. "Mine!" he answered Lily's question from across the room._

_Molly and Alice immediately blushed and giggled but Lily closed her eyes and sighed._

"You've got to be kidding me, Potter," Jolie said in the middle of Lily and James telling the story.

"That's exactly what Lily said before," James waved an airy hand and continued.

"_You've got to be kidding me, Potter," Lily said as the Marauders were in fits of laughter. Even Remus had a difficult time keeping a straight face._

_As she glared at James, he said dramatically, "Don't give me that face, Lily. Tut, tut. Don't frown! Just smile because your smile can launch a billion gazillion ships!"_

_And he winked at her._

"_Oh, go on, Lily, give him a chance, even though he is kind of corny—" whispered Alice._

"_NO!" Lily hissed at her. And then she told James, "Seriously, Potter—you DISGRACE Helen of Troy. It should be, 'Your face can launch a thousand ships', not—"_

"_Why, thank you, Lily-love," he replied charmingly._

_Lily looked repulsed. She added defensively, "What the… I wasn't talking about you, James Potter, I was merely—"_

"_Silence, now!" James raised a hand and put on the dramatics, "My fair maiden has spoken."_

_Lily slapped her forehead and groaned._

"Seriously, James was a pain before," laughed Lily after the story was done.

"No, that's a lie," James whispered loud enough for Lily to hear, "She was totally suicidal for me before, she just didn't want to admit it."

"I convinced you to go out with James, Lily," Jolie remembered when she and Lily first met in the library. "You gave in right away," Jolie teased.

"You weren't the first to convince me that day!" Lily said defensively. "I was so tired of all the 'convincing' that I finally gave in when I met you. Plus, there's something about you that's manipulative."

Jolie scoffed, "That's not true."

"No," Remus chuckled, "Lily's right, Jo."

"I never noticed," Jolie said curiously.

"Believe us," Sirius smirked.

Out of nowhere, Jolie remembered the huge mirror in the dress shop in Hogsmeade.

"I suddenly remembered something," she said.

"Me, too," Lily frowned. "I suddenly remembered the mirror I was looking at when we shopped for my wedding dress."

Lily and Jolie looked at each other. "I'm thinking the same thing," Jolie frowned. "What is it with that mirror? Why does it seem so special?"

Lily just shrugged. "What mirror?" asked James.

"You boys have never seen it," replied Jolie, "Remember the shop where we all bought dress robes?"

The boys nodded.

"The mirror we're talking about is located in the dress and gown section of the store," Jolie explained.

Suddenly James looked like he remembered something. However, he just kept silent and took out a piece of tattered parchment. He tapped his wand on it and then gave it to Remus.

Words were forming on the parchment.

_Mr. Prongs demands to know why Mr. Moony didn't ask Jolie Potter to marry him that day she and Lily Evans bought a wedding dress._

Remus' eyes widened. He looked at Jolie and Lily who were busy talking to each other about the mirror. Then, he looked at James who gave him a You're-Taking-Too-Long look and Sirius was wearing the same expression.

Words started to form on the parchment again.

_Mr. Padfoot would like to make it known that he agrees with Mr. Prongs._

Remus sighed and handed James back the parchment.

"Okay, okay!" He whispered, still thankful that Lily and Jolie were distracted with the mirror in the dress shop. "But you guys have got to help me, okay?"

Remus leaned closer to Sirius and James and whispered again, "I still need the ring."

* * *

**so, a few questions to get you readers thinking... 1.) what is it with jo, salmon and the urges to vomit? 2.) will remus be successful in getting jolie into marrying him? 3.) what's up with the mirror that lily and jolie seem to suddenly remember?**


	9. The Bastard Child

**chapter nine: one of the most emotional chapters to write (therefore making it one of the most challenging).**

**there, your questions are finally answered. :) the title says it all.**

* * *

9. THE BASTARD CHILD

The week that followed for Jolie, Remus, Lily, James and Sirius was pretty much a normal school week loaded with homework. Lily, Jolie and Remus often went to the library while James and Sirius were always looking exhausted because of their everyday Quidditch practices since Monday for their upcoming match with Slytherin.

At the beginning of February, it was obvious that Peter was slowly drifting away from Jolie, Lily and the Marauders but recently, he's been becoming closer again to the five friends. Sometimes he would watch James and Sirius practice Quidditch and sometimes he would go to the library with Jolie, Remus and Lily. Still, though, Jolie wasn't that fond of him.

Lily and Jolie always kept on talking about what was so intriguing about the mirror in the dress shop in Hogsmeade, but it bugged Jolie the most. She kept having short, quick dreams about this little boy, about ten or eleven years old, sitting on the cold, hard stone floor, staring at the same mirror she and Lily would often talk about. Unfortunately, that was all she saw—she never even really saw the little boy's face up close.

Aside from the mirror, the thing that made Lily very intrigued was how Jolie was behaving recently. Sometimes, Lily would just wake up in the middle of the night in the girls' dormitory, hearing someone in the bathroom vomiting. When she would look around, the only girl who wasn't in bed would be Jolie. Jolie also had a lot of mood swings, especially when it came to Remus, Peter, Sirius and James. Her "manipulative aura" got stronger and stronger every day, without her even noticing it.

Some of Jolie's clothes seemed tighter than before, yet she was hardly eating.

"Come on, Jo. Eat up or else you'll fade away," her friends would warn her constantly when it came to meal times.

One night, only Lily and Jolie were left in the library, finishing up yet another essay for the Potions master, Horace Slughorn. Lily looked around to see if anyone was in earshot.

"Uhm, Jo?" she asked tentatively.

"Hmm?" replied Jolie as she dipped her quill in ink.

"How… how are you feeling?"

Jolie's head snapped up and she was frowning with curiosity. "Fine," she answered, "why?"

"It's just that… I—I would hear you sometimes in the middle of the night. You know, when you're in the bathroom."

Jolie's expression softened. "I don't know what's happening to me. Sometimes, I feel really sick, sometimes, I don't."

There was silence before Lily asked awkwardly, "Have you had your period already?"

"Actually, no. Like you said, it might just be late."

"Yes, but…" Lily didn't know how to ask her best friend.

"But what?"

"N-nothing," Lily shook her head, laughing nervously, without humor.

"Oh, c'mon, Lily," smiled Jolie.

"Tell me," she leaned forward, "have you ever had… you know… _sex_. With Remus?"

Jolie laughed. "Why in the world are you asking me that?"

Lily didn't smile. "Have you?" she asked again, seriously.

Jolie's laughs ceased. "Well… _yes. _But that was just once."

Lily's mouth opened and formed an "O", her eyes full of worry.

"What's the matter?" Jolie asked, alarmed.

Lily put down her quill and sighed. "Listen. Aunt Georgina is the mum of Jenna and Janna—you know, my favourite cousins, the twins?"

Jolie nodded.

"Well, Aunt Georgina's a doctor. Muggle doctor, of course. She's… well, let's just say she's a doctor for pregnant women."

"Pregnant women?" Jolie asked flatly. A thought suddenly struck her.

"Yes," Lily was wringing her hands as she said, "I don't really know how to say this but… but—I think you might be… well, _pregnant_," she whispered the last word.

"What?" Jolie whispered back. "B-but how can that be? That's impossible, I—"

"No, it's not," Lily cut her off, "It's possible. You said it yourself, you've had you-know-what with Remus."

Jolie stared at Lily uncomfortably.

Lily held Jolie's hand and said, "I'm not blaming you or Remus, okay? I just thought you should know. And even if you are pregnant, you'll have to keep the baby and—"

"How did you come up with the thought that I could be… be—"

"Haven't you ever thought of it?" Lily frowned at her, "Think about it, Jo! No period? Gaining weight even if you're hardly eating? Mood swings! The craving for salmon. The vomiting at night—"

Jolie put her head on the table and suddenly cried, which took Lily by shock. She said nothing. Lily was right—she had never thought about it that way before.

"What am I going to tell Remus?" Jolie asked through her tears.

"Don't tell him yet! First of all, you have to be sure." Lily stood up and put her hands on Jolie's shoulders, "Let's go to the hospital wing."

"The hospital wing? Are you effing serious, Lily?!" Jolie raised her voice and her American accent became even more pronounced.

"There's no where else! Not now, we can't sneak into Hogsmeade. _There's no one else_," Lily hissed, "Madam Pomfrey can help you, she's the one who you can trust the most with these kinds of situations and _you know it!_"

Jolie wiped her face free of tears and stood up, grabbed Lily's wrist and half-ran to the hospital wing.

When they arrived there, Madam Pomfrey was the first person they saw.

"Miss Potter, Miss Evans," she greeted the two girls in a calm manner, "What can I do for you today?"

Jolie and Lily didn't say anything but Jolie unconsciously put a hand on her stomach.

Madam Pomfrey sighed and said, "You finally figured it out, have you?"

"You knew?" Jolie frowned.

"I knew the moment you were brought here when you fainted last week."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Think, child! Why would I tell you at that time? And in front of those boys, too! Would you really have wanted me to say your condition in front of Mr. Potter, Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin?"

Jolie stayed silent before saying, "No." A single tear escaped from Jolie's eye and she had just about enough time to wipe it off.

"I'm sorry, dear," Madam Pomfrey softened up.

"So, she really is…" Lily half-asked.

"Yes," replied Madam Pomfrey.

"God! Tell me it isn't true!" Jolie groaned and put her head in her hands, frustrated.

Madam Pomfrey went to the medicine cupboard and took out a small potion bottle filled with blue liquid.

She handed it to Jolie, "Take one drop of this potion, every three hours. Do it very, _very _discreetly. You don't want anyone else to know, now do you?"

Jolie shook her head in disgust.

Madam Pomfrey handed her the bottle and she pocketed it.

"That potion," she explained, "Will prevent all obvious symptoms of you bearing a child. No more cravings, mood swings, vomiting, fainting and the like. You get the picture, yes?"

"Yes," both Lily and Jolie answered quietly.

"That potion will help you greatly, Jolie," Madam Pomfrey said in a mother like tone, "No one will suspect _anything._"

"Thank you," was all Jolie could manage to say. The breath in her throat was still hitched and her eyes holding back more tears.

"You may go."

Jolie and Lily went out of the hospital wing as Lily glanced at her wrist watch.

"It's almost curfew, we better get back to the common room," she warned.

Jolie just nodded.

She was oblivious to time—or time was oblivious to her. The next thing she new, she and Lily were already stepping through the portrait hole.

"Hey!" James stood up and gave one armed hugs to the two girls, "Where've you both been?"

"Nowhere," Lily and Jolie replied quickly. James' smile faded. Lily pecked him on the lips and smiled at him—a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey, is something wrong?" James frowned.

"Nothing, James," Lily said gently. "Our—our minds are just tired from all the researching in the library."

"Jo?" Remus stood up as well and put his hands on either side of Jolie's pretty face. "Have you been crying?" he asks.

"M-me?" Jolie acted surprised, "Of course not, Remus. There's nothing to cry about," she said in a tone that revealed otherwise.

"C'mon. I know there's something you two are hiding," Remus looked at Lily as well.

Peter and Sirius were both frowning curiously at the girls.

"You can tell me," Remus added.

"No, I can't," Jolie said firmly, "because there's nothing to tell." She clutched her pocket where the blue coloured potion was hidden.

"I'm tired, guys," sighed Jolie, "I need to sleep. I've had a long day."

That was the last she said as she headed upstairs to the girls' dormitory.

When she got there, she slammed the door shut and tears uncontrollably leaked out from her eyes. She sobbed as she took out the potion Madam Pomfrey gave her and, with a quivering hand, drank a single drop.

It was tasteless. Almost like water. But nevertheless, Jolie still gagged.

She lied down on her bed, thankful that no one else was there and that Lily was sensitive enough to not follow her. She curled up, hugging her knees, still crying. What had she gotten herself into? She still loves Remus, no doubt, but she wasn't at all ready to become a mother. A mother at seventeen.

What would her parents have said? What would Remus' parents say? Even worse, how can she bring herself to tell Remus himself? Sure, she had recently wanted to marry him, spend her whole life with him, especially since after she saw James and Lily get engaged. She wanted to have her own family with him—but not like this.

For her to bear a bastard child, even though it was Remus' child… was too much for her to handle.

She sobbed loudly and whispered to herself, "Dammit, what am I going to do?"

* * *

**there you go, guys. and that teaches you a lesson. DON'T GO FOOLING AROUND WITH SEX! it's not good and it's a bad bad bad mistake any couple could make before marriage. dont get carried away and be patient till your time comes.**

**i guess i had difficulty with this chapter because, well, i don't have kids. i'm not married. never had sex, thank you very much. too young for that. to make it simple, i was never in jolie potter's case.**


	10. The Mirror of Erised

**hey guys, i'm sorry for the slow updates for this story. :( i haven't had the time to write. actually, it's 1:21 AM right now and I wrote this chapter for about 10-15 minutes, I guess, with all the formatting and rereading included. :) i've been more preoccupied with my newest story, You Can Let Go Now. It's a Sirius/OC fic (the OC's not Jolie, 'kay) and it's Romance/hurt/comfort. If you haven't read it, please do so. ;) and please don't forget to review for YCLGN as well as TDOAND. :D**

**at the start of the chapter, i didn't put lyrics of a song, but instead, i put the lines of lily in this chapter. it just really struck me. i mean, she really stood by what she said: look at what she did for harry. :)**

**CaraGrace, you CAN find it in TDSOTM! The reason why Jo's pregnant was all because of what happened in TDSOTM's chapter 55. ;) check it out if you want. that's when Jo and Remus did you-know-what. :O**

* * *

10. THE MIRROR OF ERISED

"_A person may leave this world, but their love will stay with you forever."_

_- Lily Evans, Chapter 10: The Mirror of Erised, The Dawn of A New Day_

"Morning, James."

"Hey. Morning, Lily."

James and Lily were the first ones up on a cold, rainy Saturday morning. The fire in the common room was burning up. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but Lily and James were already awake.

"I'm excited, James."

"For what?"

Lily smiled. "The wedding, idiot."

James laughed softly and tucked a lock of Lily's hair behind her ear. "So am I," he said.

"Thanks so much," said Lily.

James looked curious and confused, "For what?" he repeated.

"For not giving up on me."

James and Lily looked into each other's eyes and slowly leaned towards each other to kiss. The soft, innocent touch of their lips was ironically filled with enthusiasm for the future they were both so keen on anticipating.

When they pulled apart, James wrapped his arms around Lily and she leaned on his shoulder. "Lily," James sighed, "I'm worried."

"Hmm?" asked Lily.

"I'm worried about Jo."

Lily swallowed and pretended to not know anything. "Why would you be worried?" she smiled. "She's not in any danger or anything like that."

"Yes, but… well, there's something different about her."

"Like?" Lily looked sceptical.

"I'm not sure! I know there's something, but I just can't put my finger on it. One thing's for sure, though—something's changed. Or maybe something's troubling her?"

Lily shrugged. "If she had any troubles, I would know, James."

James looked at her suspiciously. "That's the point, Lils," he muttered.

"And so?" chuckled Lily, "Jo's fine. Don't be so anxious."

"She's my sister. I haven't seen her smile in a… well, in quite a while."

Lily shook her head, "Maybe that's just you."

But James shook his head as well, "No way. Even Sirius, Peter and Remus think there's something she's hiding—especially Remus."

Lily said frankly, "She's not hiding anything."

But of course, that was far from the truth. Because in reality, Jolie really was hiding something. Lily had tried at all means to convince Jolie to tell Remus about the child, but somehow, she always failed. It was either Jolie would get mad at Lily "for being such a nagger," as Jolie described it, or she would be reduced into tears, afraid of her situation and not knowing what to do.

Of course, abortion was never an option. As much as Jolie didn't want the child, she couldn't bring herself to kill an innocent soul.

Jolie still constantly consumed the blue potion Madam Pomfrey gave and she did it quite discreetly. The secret of the baby had been hidden very well, because in Hogwarts, for example, if one has a secret in the morning, more than half of the school will know about it by dinner time.

Jolie and Lily would often talk about the baby when it was just the two of them in the girls' dormitory. They had high suspicions on what the baby might turn out to be when it is born—surely, it will be a shape shifter just like its mother. It might even inherit the ability to see the future, being a seer like Jolie. However, the baby will also have werewolf-like characteristics because of the father, Remus.

Werewolves. Shape shifters. _Enemies._

It wasn't a pretty picture.

In short, the baby will be enemy to itself.

"Lily?" James looked at her, "You have that look in your eyes again. The one that says, 'I know something, but I can't tell you.' Your eyes are saying it loud and clear."

Lily snapped out of her trance-like stare. "My eyes _don't_ speak."

"C'mon, Lils! Tell me what's wrong with Jolie!" James begged already.

"Nothing's wrong with her!" Lily tried to put James off the trail.

James rolled his eyes, "Yeah, _right._"

All of a sudden, the sound of the boys' dormitory door opened. Footsteps could be heard going to the common room.

"Remus, is that you?" James called out, recognizing Remus' walk.

"Oh, hey, James, Lily. Why are you up so early?" Remus rubbed his eyes.

"We should be asking you the same thing."

Remus shrugged. "I had a weird dream. I can't remember it anymore, but I know it was weird. Nightmare. I didn't want to go back to sleep."

"Really, you're a sissy," Lily teased.

"Hey," Remus chuckled, "I resent that!

"So what're you both up to?" Remus sat on an armchair.

"Talking about random things," Lily answered.

James retorted, "They're not random! We're talking about just one topic."

Lily rolled her eyes. "He's such a nagger," she explained to Remus.

"I know you're hiding something," James ignored Lily's previous statement, "_Both of you_."

"Whoa, both of who?" Remus ran a hand through his hair. It was getting a bit long already.

Lily and James answered Remus' question at the same time. Lily said, "No one," and James said, "Lily and Jo."

"Did you just say Lily and Jo, James?" Remus frowned. There was a quick silent moment. "There's something that's bugging Jo, I can feel it."

"Ha!" James looked at Lily triumphantly, "See? I told you. Even Remus thinks so."

"Ugh," complained Lily.

"Wait, you've been talking about what might be bugging Jo?" Remus frowned again.

James answered, "Yeah. Lily knows something about it."

"No, I don't!" she replied hotly.

"Yes, you do," both James and Remus said at the same time, using the same tone.

"Listen, Lils," Remus pointed out, "James and I, as the men in your life and in Jo's life respectively, know when there's something going on. We can just feel it. Whether you say something about it, not say anything about it, hide it or make it obvious. We just _know. _It's pure instinct."

"It's a guy thing," James side commented.

Lily smiled sarcastically. "I know my thoughts better than you both do and there's only one simple teeny tiny explanation for that fact—they're _my own _thoughts and no one else's."

Remus and James still pressed on the topic, with no success afterwards.

* * *

The month of February went past rather quickly and in no time, it was soon March. Remus, James, Sirius and Peter still never found out about what was the secret they suspected Jolie and Lily were hiding. Little by little, they also lost interest in it, as Jolie was gradually going back to her normal, happy self.

"Really, I don't want anything huge for my birthday, Lily," Jolie laughed as she stood in front of the mirror in the girls' dormitory, tying her hair up in a carefree looking ponytail.

In three days, Jolie would turn eighteen.

"Aw, but Jo! Why not?" Lily whined like a child.

"Well, I'll be honest with you—I don't really want to remember my birthdays anymore."

Lily looked at her incredulously. "Are you insane? Eighteen is a very important age! It should be special. _You _made Remus' eighteenth special, you know—"

"Yeah, well, his case is different. It's _his _birthday, and I wanted it to be special. My birthday just reminds me of my family." There's was no trace of bitterness in Jolie's voice. It was just flat.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked softly.

At this point Jolie was already done tying her hair up. She slumped on a seat and looked at Lily before saying, "I've always celebrated my birthdays with my parents, and with Justin. This is the first time I won't be doing that. It's like… my birthday reminds me that I won't get to see them ever again. That I won't get to celebrate it like how I used to.

"Besides, we never went for anything _big _for my birthdays—I don't really like that anyway."

Lily sighed and smiled sadly, "You haven't lost your family, Jo."

"Yeah," Jolie nodded, "I know I have James—"

"Not just James!" laughed Lily, "Family are the people who love you dearly and who accept you for who you truly are. They're the people whom you feel at home with, and who feel at home with you. Of course, Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were like that, even Justin. But you haven't lost your family."

Jolie smiled at Lily, knowing what she meant. But she just kept quiet and let her continue.

"For one thing, a person may leave this world, but their love will stay with you forever. They'll always be a part of your heart and a part of who you are," Lily said easily, "For another thing, family doesn't only mean people who are your relatives. In short, Jo, _we _are your family. The Marauders and I."

Jolie stood up from her seat and hugged Lily tight, "Love you, Lils."

"Love you too, Jo," Lily laughed.

Jolie didn't let go right away. She suddenly fell into a blank stare. Well, it was blank to others but to her, it showed a lot.

_There, in a dark hall that looked like a part of Hogwarts itself, stood a lonesome mirror. It was big and it looked exactly the same as the mirror in the dress shop in Hogsmeade._

_However, the mirror had an inscription— "__Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," was engraved upon it._

_There was a__ boy sitting on the floor, just staring at the mirror. He was small, skinny and wore round glasses. He had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. His jet black hair stood up at the back. He looked exactly like James Potter. _

_Except the eyes. His eyes were almond shaped and were bright green. Just like Lily Evan's._

_Suddenly, the mirror showed not just the face of the young boy, but two adults standing on either side of him as well. One was a man and one was a woman. It was clear that these two were James Potter and Lily Evans as adults._

_The young boy's eyes lightened up with hope. "Mum?" he called out to the mirror, "Dad?"_

"Jo. Jolie. Jo!" Lily laughed, trying to shake Jolie out of her trance like state.

"Oh, sorry, Lils!" Jolie let go of Lily, freeing her from the long hug. "I… I suddenly realized something."

"What?"

"Remember that mirror in the dress shop?"

"Of course I do, we've been thinking about it ever since it occurred to us that there's something special and strange about it—"

"I think I know why it's so special and strange!" Jolie said excitedly.

"Why?" Lily eyes widened.

Jolie sighed, "I… I can't tell you…

"…But I can show you."

* * *

**aha, so you finally know what the mirror was all about. ;)**


	11. Happy Moments

**aw, this chapter is sweet. :") AWW!**

**R&R, people. :D enjoy.**

* * *

11. HAPPY MOMENTS

That same afternoon, Remus, James, Sirius and Peter were walking down the streets of Hogsmeade. James said to an anxious Remus, "Don't _worry, _Moony mate. I know the perfect place."

"Where?" Remus asked.

"It's an awesome store, seriously. That was where I got the ring for Lily," James smirked.

However, Sirius looked confused, "But you proposed to Lily in America."

James looked at Sirius as if he wasn't looking at the obvious, "I had the ring _before _we went to the Quileute Reservation!"

"You bought it without us?" Sirius acted offended and James pushed him playfully.

"I wanted it to be a surprise—for _all of you, _and not just for Lily."

The four boys entered a small store that had a lot of glass shelves. The door itself was made of glass and a bell tinkled when James pushed open the door.

"Ah," the store's old keeper said, "Mr. Potter! What a fine day to see you once again—I take it that the proposal for Ms. Evans went well, yes?"

"It was splendid, thank you, Garbon," James smiled.

"When will the wedding be?" Garbon, the store's keeper asked curiously.

James replied, "This summer—exactly three days after graduation."

"So soon, so soon then, Mr. Potter!"

James chuckled. "Yes, of course, you'll be invited—credits go to you for the ring Lily loved so much," he said, knowing what was coming next from old Garbon.

Garbon bowed his head before saying, "I might ask, then, Mr. Potter… what brings you here today?"

"Actually, we'll be needing a new ring."

"A new one?"

James nodded once, "For my good friend here, Remus Lupin."

Remus and Garbon shook hands. "Another young, new groom, then… kids these days," chuckled Garbon, "And who, Mr. Lupin, is the bride?"

"Jolie Potter," answered Remus, "She's James' sister."

"Hmm," Garbon looked thoughtful, "Is she the pretty one with a mischievous looking face and dark hair? The one who wore blue for your Valentines' Ball?" he asked frankly.

"Yes," replied Remus, "how did you know?"

"The lady in the dress shop tells me some stories about her… she's quite fond of Ms. Potter, if I say so myself."

Garbon headed to one of the low glass shelves that kept wedding rings.

"I never knew there was a wedding shop in Hogsmeade. All I thought was here were bars, pubs, joke shops and sweet shops," Sirius muttered to James.

James laughed quietly and replied, "They have _everything _in Hogsmeade. You just have to know where to find them."

Garbon had his back on the four boys as he rummaged through the rings. "Tell me, Mr. Lupin… what is Ms. Potter like?"

Remus looked curious and asked James, "How is this supposed to help us find a ring?"

"Trust him, Moony," James patted Remus' back, "Trust him."

"Well… she's the best," Remus thought.

"Yes, that's what all the grooms say about their brides," Garbon said and then there was a moment of silence.

"She's a bit intimidating, but she's got a nice personality either way," suddenly Peter said, quietly.

James blurted out, "She's fun and a loving younger sister of mine. I never knew her parents but she must've been a great daughter, and a responsible older sister for Justin."

Sirius thought a while and said, "She's a loyal person… Jolie's someone you can count on and she's got a strong, brave soul."

Garbon smiled at them and then looked at Remus, "Mr. Lupin?"

Remus had an absent-minded smile as he said, "I don't know who I'd be, what would happen and how I'd feel without her. I'd probably be lost. She's my other half, I know she is… She makes me happy, despite all the sad and trying times of my life. And—and I feel anxious when I don't have her near."

Garbon, James, Sirius and Peter were staring at Remus. "I need her, and I love her."

There was a moment of silence which James broke, "God, you are one _corny _lover, Moony."

Remus laughed and told James, "Shut up, Prongs."

"That being said," Garbon pointed a finger, "I insist you take these rings… one for her, and one for you." He handed Remus two small, dark blue, velvet ring boxes.

"Open it and see what you think," Garbon advised him.

Remus tucked one of the boxes in his pocket and opened the other box. The ring inside it was gold and it was one entire ornate carving. Simple, but beautiful.

"Despite being admirable on the outside, that ring is special even on the inside," said Garbon. "Unicorn hair, to be exact."

"Thank you," was all Remus could say.

They paid for the rings and left the store. As they walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, Remus sighed, "I dunno when to ask her. She's turning eighteen in three days."

"Then ask her on her birthday!" exclaimed James.

"It's in _three days! _It's so soon…"

"Think about it, Moons," Sirius said, "her eighteenth would be the _most special _birthday _ever _for her—_if _you asked her hand in marriage the same day."

There was a moment of silence. All of a sudden, Sirius said, "You better make me your best man, Remus."

"Hey, not fair," James retorted, "I helped you find the ring, Moony—"

"I gave you the idea for the proposal!" Sirius told Remus pointedly.

"Well, she's my sister!"

"I help Moony more during full moon!"

"That's so not true, he wounds you _most_ during full moon!"

Remus chuckled as James and Sirius argued over the position of best man. "Guys," he laughed, "relax. We have time. James, your wedding should go first.

"And speaking of your wedding…" Remus continued, "I can't be best man, James. Sorry."

"Why?!" James looked shocked.

"That's the first day of my transformation for that month—I won't be able to cope up. C'mon, have mercy."

James stared at Remus, "But—"

"_Have bloody mercy, James._"

"Oh, _fine,_" James crossed his arms. "Peter, how about—?"

"No!" Peter immediately answered and shook his head frantically, "I can't! I won't be able to cope up, either!"

James made a face and told Sirius, "Well, I guess it's just you and me, mate."

Jolie and Lily were rushing through the streets of Hogsmeade, excited about the mirror they were supposed to see in the dress shop.

Finally, when the entered the store, Jolie said right away to the store keeper, "The huge mirror here—there's something special about it!"

The kind old lady smiled up at her, "Yes, there is, dear. Would you like to see it for yourself?"

"Yes, please, thank you so much—"

"Jolie," Lily called her best friend's attention, "Look."

"What?"

Lily pointed outside the window. "It's James and the others," she said.

Jolie raised her eyebrows, "What are they doing here?"

Lily shrugged, "I dunno. Oh well, probably just some boy bonding."

Jolie sniggered, "Boy bonding? Seriously, Lils."

"Ugh, let's just go _see _the mirror," Lily rolled her eyes, chuckled and pulled Jolie by the wrist.

When they got to the small corridor with the mirror, Lily said, "You go first and tell me what you see."

Jolie walked slowly towards the mirror, wondering what she might see.

Does this mirror show the past? The boy in her vision was Harry, most probably, and he saw Lily and James, whom Jolie knew were supposed to be dead by that time.

Jolie stopped in her tracks. She thought for a while. She knew Lily and James were going to die. She learned to accept it already, keep it a secret from everyone but herself and Dumbledore. But she couldn't deny the fact that it was still painful. That's why she was making the most out of her time with James and Lily—because she knew her time with them was limited.

As much as she didn't want them to die, she wasn't supposed to lay a finger on destiny.

_What's supposed to happen must happen, _she thought firmly. _They die to save Harry, so Harry can save everyone else from Voldemort_.

"Jo, is everything okay?" Lily asked but Jolie didn't hear her.

_But… wasn't I supposed to die, too? That night during Valentines, _she wondered, disturbed.

_Severus meddled with time, _she concluded.

Finally, she made up her mind and thought to herself, _I have to tell Dumbledore._

Jolie started walking forward again and slowly, she saw an image forming on the mirror. Her lips parted as she focused her eyes on what the mirror was showing her.

There, her reflection stood smiling, her eyes warm and happy, opposite to her current expression and feeling, which was troubled and confused. The reflection showed Remus beside her, too, who had his hand on her waist—he was looking happy as well.

Out of the blue, Jolie felt her breath hitch in her throat as she realized what was the bundle she was holding in her arms—a baby. A beautiful baby, who had an innocent face, unaware of all of life's hardships.

Remembering her vision, Jolie looked at the top of the mirror's frame, to see if there were words engraved on it.

_Erised stra__ ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

Her vision was exact. This was the same mirror.

Jolie read the words engraved on the mirror's frame. "…Is this Latin or something?" she muttered to herself.

She looked back at her reflection and saw the same image. There she was, happy, untroubled, with no secrets left to hide—especially the secret of her bearing Remus' baby, which troubled her greatly, and still left her crying sometimes at night.

The image the mirror showed was what she wanted, what she dreamed of at the moment—she didn't want the secret of the baby to be kept from its own father! But she had to hide it, otherwise everything would go in turmoil.

She stared at the first word of the carvings. "Erised," she muttered to herself. "Erised…

"Desire?" she read it backwards. Suddenly, she had an idea.

She looked at the carvings more carefully and she read the whole thing backwards. "'I show not your face… but your heart—your heart's… desire.'"

Jolie smiled and turned back at Lily, "Lils! Come here, there's something you should see!"

Lily hurried up to her, "What?"

Jolie pointed at the top of the mirror. "Look at the carvings," she said.

Lily tried to read it as it is, "What is this, Latin?" she frowned, but Jolie just smiled.

"That's what I thought, too," Jolie said, "but it's just English, written backwards, with the spacing changed. Look!"

There was a moment of silence and Jolie could see Lily's lips moving, silently reading to herself. Finally, Lily turned to Jolie, "'I show not your face but your heart's desire'?" Lily asked, "What did you see in the mirror, Jo?"

Jolie replied, "Me, standing with Remus and a baby."

Lily gasped.

"We were happy—there was no secret to be kept from him," Jolie added. "What do you see, Lils?"

Lily looked at the mirror. Suddenly, she looked confused. "I just see myself. Nothing's changed. The way I am now… That's the way I am in my reflection. Are you sure this works?"

"Of course it does, Lils!"

"Then how come I see myself the same way?"

"Well, let's think… what does this mirror do?"

Lily answered, "As it said, it shows your heart's desire."

"Well, I want my biggest trouble to be gone… You know, the whole secrecy about Remus' baby," Jolie muttered sadly. "What about you?"

"Well, I love James… my heart's desire is to marry him, that's for sure."

Jolie frowned, "But you _already are_ marrying him. You guys are engaged."

There was an eerie moment of silence. Suddenly, Jolie muttered, "This mirror shows what makes a person happy—what one wants the most."

Lily smiled, "I already have what I want the most. And I'm happy about it."

Then the thought hit them.

"Maybe that's why I see myself in the mirror exactly the way I am now," Lily said and Jolie nodded slowly, processing the mirror's strange behavior.

"We've looked at this mirror before. Like when we shopped for our dresses for the Ball. We went with the boys we love," Jolie laughed, "And we saw ourselves exactly the way we were."

Lily smiled, half happy and half sad.

"Maybe those were the happiest moments of our lives, Lily."

* * *

**their lives just get more complicated as they grow up. :( this, i think, is the longest chapter i've ever written for fanfiction. HAHA.**


	12. Secrets Don't Last Long

**hey guys. i'm sorry if i haven't been updating this story very often-- i've been focusing more on You Can Let Go Now. :) PLEASE READ THAT STORY, GUYS! It's a Sirius/OC fic, for all you romantic suckers out there. LOL.**

**I'm sorry about any typos here in this chapter, I haven't been able to reread it. Please just notify me in a review if you see anything that needs to be corrected: grammar, spelling, etc.**

**Read and review, please. :) Thanks! Oh yeah, this chapter is the longest one i've done. EVER. Seriously. ;)**

* * *

12. SECRETS DON'T LAST LONG

The next day was a Sunday. The previous night, Jolie and Remus got together with each other and fell asleep—_again_—on the couch in the common room. When Jolie woke up, feeling a warm, bright patch of sunlight shining on her face, she realized Remus wasn't around. She sat up and looked around the room, but there was no sign of him. _Strange, _she thought to herself. Knowing Remus, she headed straight to the boys' dormitory and quietly opened the door, only to find all the boys' beds empty. Jolie glanced back at the grandfather clock—it wasn't that early. It was around ten in the morning. She grunted absentmindedly and felt something heavy move in her stomach. Jolie gasped and her hand immediately travelled to her womb and she sighed, feeling guilty that Remus still had no idea that she was carrying his child.

Today, Jolie was wearing sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. She had done quite well in hiding her figure because apparently, the baby's growth was faster than normal, since the child was a shape-shifter. There was distinct bulge in Jolie's stomach that made it obvious that she was pregnant, but loose clothing made it easy for her to keep her secret.

In silence, Jolie heard the showers in the boys' dormitory running. Still not having found Remus, she curiously went in front of the door of the bathroom. She pressed her ears to the door and yes, there was water running inside. Slowly, she opened the door and was relieved when she recognized Remus' silhouette behind the shower curtains. For some strange reason, she was breathing unevenly and deeply and she had that stinking feeling in her guts, the one that she always felt when she would think about Remus and the baby.

Not thinking properly, she stepped forward on the cold bathroom tiles and, not caring that Remus was using the shower at ten in the morning, Jolie slid the shower curtains aside.

"Jo?" Remus called out to her, surprised. "What's wrong?"

Jolie had a blank, yet scared expression on her face, and she just realized it now.

"Remus…" she muttered, preoccupied about the baby. Everyday got worse for her, especially now that her stomach was starting to swell at an alarming rate. "I'm scared," Jolie told Remus.

They stared at each other, and Remus was confused immensely. The water from the shower kept on running and Remus was drenched with water all over, since he wasn't done using the shower anyway.

Not caring that Remus had no clothes on, Jolie stepped into the shower and embraced Remus from behind. "Jo," Remus said, slightly alarmed, "you'll—you'll get wet in here."

Jolie shook her head. "I need you, Remus. Now, more than ever," she muttered, her words barely audible.

Remus faced her and put his hands on either side of her face. Their eyes were locked into each others' gaze and for the first time, Remus felt helpless.

"I'm so sorry," Jolie cried.

Remus shook his head, "I don't understand… for what?"

Jolie said nothing but she put her head on his chest and she was getting drenched in water as well. After a while, Jolie stepped out of the shower and cleared her throat. "You better finish up," she said, "I'll see you downstairs."

"Alright," Remus smiled weakly as he let go of her hand, "See you. I love you."

Jolie smiled sadly and mouthed, "I love you, too."

As she exited the Gryffindor common room, she didn't care at all that her clothes were wet. She walked down the hallways and heard the portraits ask her if everything was alright, but she didn't even mind responding. She hated this feeling so much. She knew she was at fault and that she was the one to blame… one more mistake could ruin everything.

"Jo?" a familiar voice called out from behind Jolie.

Jolie didn't even need to look behind to see whose voice that belonged to. "Severus," she answered back. She was thankful that the hallway was clear, so she and Severus could talk like old friends.

A warm hand touched Jolie's shoulder. "Hey," Severus greeted her with a bright smile on his face. Jolie sighed.

"Hey," she replied.

"Is… is everything okay?"

Jolie scrunched her eyes and tipped her face upwards, "I feel so messed up," she groaned. Severus listened to Jolie. She continued, "These are the times when I feel like dying. God, take me now. I don't deserve to live."

"Shut up, Jolie," Severus said. "You know that's not true."

"I've done something horrible, Sev," Jolie looked at him.

Severus gave her a comforting smile and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "You can tell me. Everything's going to be fine."

Jolie frowned and raised her voice, "No. Everything is _not _going to be fine. I'm stuck in a problem I can't get out of. And even if I find a way out, it would probably be the death of me."

Severus stared at her, confused as well.

"Sev," Jolie swallowed and got ready for the worst, "I'm carrying Remus Lupin's child."

Severus was silent before he let out a soft grunt. "You're joking," he shook his head.

"Does it look like it's a joke, Severus?"

Jolie saw a muscle twitch in Severus' jaw. "No," he said hopefully, "That's impossible, it can't be true."

"Do you know better than Madam Pomfrey? She's the one who confirmed it, Sev. Please," Jolie begged, "I don't need you to be angry at me, or to be sad for me… I just need someone to give me some advice that will help me. Even just for a little. Help me, Sev. Please."

Severus sighed. He had never heard Jolie speak like this before. He always knew her to be the strong one, the one who knew what to do when problems came. And yet, there she was, asking for his help and asking for some comfort like a lost child. Severus leaned on the wall and sat down on the floor. He held out his hand to Jolie. She took it and then sat on the floor as well. "What do you want to do with the baby, Jo?" he asked.

Jolie 'tsk'ed before saying, "I dunno. The wisest choice is to keep it. But that choice is going to come with difficult conflicts and such."

"Does Lupin know about it already?"

"No. And I'm scared if he finds out. I dunno how I can keep this secret any longer. The baby's growing real fast since it has my genes of being a shape shifter. And being a werewolf as well."

Severus put a hand on Jolie's stomach. She was right. It was hard and getting round. It scared him a bit, but he didn't know why. "You can't be sure about the baby becoming a werewolf, you know. Not all werewolves who have off springs pass on their genes to their child."

"I hope so," sighed Jolie. "I've been feeling so lonely these days. It's a good thing we could finally talk like before."

"I'm sorry about what happened during the Valentines' Ball."

"Oh, don't mind that anymore. It's over," Jolie smiled.

"Jo… Since the baby's growing at a faster rate," asked Severus, "when do you expect it to come?"

"Around two months from now, I suppose. Why?"

"Well, I agree with you in keeping the baby. You can't give it up for adoption; it's not going to be a normal child. And I'm pretty sure you don't want to get it aborted."

Jolie chuckled, "Of course not. I wouldn't want that, yes. You know… you'd make a good father, Severus." Jolie smiled. "The woman who you'll marry will be a lucky one indeed. And, if ever you have a child yourself, that child would be having a brilliant father."

"I hope you're right about that," said Severus. "You can be my personal ego booster." Severus ruffled Jolie's side swept bangs playfully. "How old are you?" Severus abruptly changed the subject.

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen," he repeated, "A parent at seventeen."

"No," Jolie looked at him, "By the time the baby's out, I'll be eighteen."

Severus looked like he could've slapped himself. "Oh," he said, "you're turning eighteen tomorrow!"

"Yeah," Jolie waved an airy hand, "Not that it matters to me, though."

"No? Well it matters to me, Jo," Severus smiled.

* * *

Remus stepped out of the shower, still intrigued and disturbed about Jolie's strange behaviour a while ago. _Is it PMs? _Remus frowned as he asked himself.

He got into his clothes and ran a hand through his wet hair. When he entered the boys' dormitory, he saw that Lily was there, together with the other three Marauders.

"Hey, Moony," James said.

"Hey, James. Have you seen Jolie?" Remus sat on his own bed.

"No," James shook his head, and so did everyone else. "Why?"

"She went into the shower earlier and was acting a bit strange. It's like she's troubled or something… she said that she needs me and—"

"She went into the shower while you were using it?" Sirius interrupted.

"Yes, I was—"

"Naked." Sirius smirked. "I like this story, go on, Remus."

"Shut the bloody hell up, Sirius," Remus threw a pillow. "It's like she's got a big problem that she won't tell me."

Lily stiffened. "Oh, she's fine, Remus," she said, "I've spent a lot of time with her, she's—she's doing well."

"I'm seeing a different side of her," Remus said absentmindedly.

"So?" Peter asked.

"Well, it doesn't mean I don't love her anymore, okay?" Remus said defensively. "I do, I still do. I'll love her no matter what, that's for sure."

"Really?" Lily asked and Remus stared at her. There was a moment of awkward silence. Then Lily suddenly said, "When are you proposing?"

"Tomorrow," Remus smiled. "On her birthday."

"You sound very confident," Lily said.

"Well, I have no reason to not be confident, do I?"

Lily sighed. "No," she replied, "I guess not."

"Hey, Lily," James stood up, "Could you come with me downstairs for a while? I think I forgot my book back in the dungeons."

"Sure, James," Lily stood up as well and left the common room with James. As soon as they got out of the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily stopped in her tracks, suddenly realizing something. "Wait a moment," she frowned, "you can't have forgotten your book. We haven't been using it since last week for Potions."

James stared at her and Lily took one step backwards. "You haven't forgotten anything—"

"Stop playing games, Lily," James said firmly. Lily had never heard him speak to her like this. "I know something is going on with my sister and I know that you know what it is."

Lily swallowed but didn't say anything.

"_Please_ tell me, Lily," James softened up a little.

"It's _not_ my secret to tell, James," she said slowly, "If you want to know so badly, why don't you ask Jolie herself?"

"Because I know she'd never tell me—"

"Jolie trusts me, James. I can't give away her secret, it's up to her if she wanted people to know."

James pushed his glasses up to his eyes, "I'm worried about her, Lils."

"Me, too," she replied.

"Even without you or her or anyone telling me, for that matter, I still have this feeling that it's something not so good."

Lily crossed her arms and shrugged. There was a moment of silence. All of a sudden, James frowned. "Do you… do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Listen."

Lily and James listened and they heard faint voices in the hallway. It sounded like two people talking, and the voices were familiar.

"It sounds like Jolie," Lily muttered.

"Who's she with? There's another voice—"

"I think it's Snape, James," Lily replied. Out of the blue, James rushed on, following the voices. Lily caught up with him, grabbed the back of his shirt and said, "Stop it, James. You should know by now that Jolie and Snape are good friends."

"You used to be the same with Snape, Lily," James answered, "Now, look at where the both of you are. Look at what he did to you."

"Enough. I know you really hate Snape, but he's changed. He's friends with Jolie and that's that."

"He's changed?" James turned to face Lily, "How can you be so sure, Lils? You haven't forgiven him."

Lily looked down at the floor and crossed her arms again. "I have," she shrugged as she admitted it, "it's just that I've been afraid to go and try to talk to him. Plus, I don't know if Snape could ever forgive me. I've been so persistent in not accepting his apologies that maybe, finally, he's gotten angry with me."

James held Lily's hand. "I just want to find Jo, Lily. Come with me. For real, this time."

Lily and James walked down the hallway hand in hand, following the voices. The voices of Severus and Jolie got louder and louder as James and Lily became closer and closer to finding them…

"…I'm going to make you its godfather, Sev," Lily and James heard Jolie say.

"It would be an honour," Severus chuckled, "Though I feel as if I'm not fit for it—"

"Yes, you are," Jolie insisted. "This baby's going to love you as a godfather."

James stiffened. "Baby?" he whispered to Lily.

"James—" Lily said hurriedly before James could find out about the truth, "We—we should go. It's not respectful to eavesdrop on other people's conversations—"

Severus laughed softly, "Did you feel that? It kicked."

"What?" Jolie laughed as well, "I didn't feel anything. You're joking, Severus Snape—"

"No, I'm not! Seriously, it did!" Severus said. "So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"I honestly don't know, to tell you the truth. I'm afraid to find out. I'm afraid to let anyone else find out. Only three people know about the baby, and it's Madam Pomfrey, you and Lily," said Jolie.

James' gaze snapped at Lily. "You knew about this?" he whispered.

"James—I said it's not for me to tell anyone—"

"But this is different, Lily, this is serious! Is Jo—"

Severus' voice interrupted. "I'll have to go, Jo. It's been nice talking to you again," he smiled at Jolie. "See you around. Take care," he kissed her forehead.

"Bye, Sev," Jolie replied, "See you, too."

James and Lily heard a pair of footsteps walking away. There was a short moment of silence before James finally turned back to Lily and asked his question. "Lily—please tell me the truth this time. Is Jolie pregnant?"

Lily opened her mouth to answer but then closed it again as she looked over James shoulder. Lily shook her head and mouthed, "I'm sorry," but she wasn't talking to James.

James looked behind him and saw that Jolie stood there, looking at Lily with a blank expression on her face, clearly taken by surprise. And then her gaze shifted to her brother. "James?" she said, "Have you been eavesdropping on me and Severus?"

"We just overheard some things," James said hurriedly. Jolie gave James a look before turning away and leaving. "Jo! Wait!" he rushed after her. "It's okay, it's okay," James caught her shoulder, "I know—"

"Oh, you know?" Jolie frowned. "Know what, James? That I'm pregnant? That I'm carrying your best friend's child and he knows nothing about it?"

James stared at his sister.

"Well, now you do," Jolie spat as she had her hands on her stomach. "Happy?" And then she faced Lily, "Thanks a lot, Lily," she said sarcastically. "I trusted you not to let anyone find out." Jolie shrugged off James' hand from her shoulder and then she walked away.

As soon as Jolie turned around a corner, James punched the air in anger and frustration. "Remus doesn't know?" he asked Lily exasperatedly.

Lily sighed and shook her head.

James took of his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I can't believe this. And now she's mad at us—"

"Please try to understand her first, James. She's pregnant. Not only that, but she's got a big problem on her shoulders. She doesn't know what to do."

"Well, why won't she ask people for advice?"

"For her to ask people for advice is to let people know about her condition, and that's something she doesn't want."

James and Lily looked at each other. "I feel really bad for her, James," Lily admitted. "And I feel as if I can't do anything good enough to help her—"

James embraced Lily. "We'll help her. Even if she doesn't want us to, because help is really what she needs right now."

"What about Remus?" Lily asked in a muffled voice.

"That's between him and Jolie. I don't want to interfere with that. Of course I feel guilty not telling my best friend, but like you said, Lily—this isn't my secret to tell."

"She's turning eighteen tomorrow, James."

"I know," James nodded. "I know. And we're not going to let anything ruin her birthday, are we?" he smiled weakly and looked at Lily.

Lily smiled back gently and nodded.

* * *

**REVIEWS, PLEASE! :)**


	13. ATTENTION, READERS!

FOR ALL THE READERS—

I'm so terribly sorry for not updating this story for who-knows-how-long. I just wanted you to know that I am NOT abandoning this story. Okay, fine, at first I did abandon it, but then I realized that it was such a good story, I couldn't just leave it! So, I'd ask a favor from all of you: Please pitch in your ideas! What do you guys want to happen? ;) I promise I'll consider all your thoughts. :) And please be patient. I will soon be working on Chapter 13, and will be posting it when I'm done writing.

Thank you, all!


	14. Hello, I Love You

**hello, all of you! thank you for waiting. i hope you like this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. HAHA. :)) btw, thank you for all your previous reviews!**

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13. HELLO, I LOVE YOU

"_I can see it in your eyes, I can see it in your smile. You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide 'cause you know just what to say and you know just what to do and I want to tell you so much, I love you."_

_-Hello by Lionel Richie_

"Ah, good morning, Sunshine," Jolie heard James' voice when she woke up the next day. It was another Hogsmeade weekend. Jolie took one look at James' smirking face before she disappeared underneath her blanket. James jumped on the bed.

"Come on, Sis!" James nudged. "Get up! The sun is out, your friends are awake, your boyfriend is waiting… or should I say your—"

"Hey, Beautiful," Sirius came in. "What's a girl like you doing in bed at this time of the day? Shouldn't you be out with someone? Like a girl friend? Or maybe… Oh, I don't know, Remus?"

"What the hell are you boys doing in a girls' dormitory?" Jolie asked in a muffled, sleepy voice.

Sirius jumped on the bed as well and he and James sandwiched Jolie in between them. "Oh, come on!" Sirius laughed and poked Jolie in the ribs. "Up and at 'em, Baby!"

"Ugh," Jolie wriggled herself free from Sirius and James. "Boundaries, guys. Get out."

"Jeez, don't be such a grouch, Sis. It's your birthday!"

Sirius said in a playful, child-like voice, "You're eighteen now!"

"Hmmmmpfh," was all Jolie said.

"Oh no," James stood up and said sarcastically, "Jolie doesn't seem to be in the mood to turn eighteen." And then he pretended to tear up, "And I've been w-working so h-hard to buy her that beautiful purple sweater she saw in Hogsmeade a few weeks back! Oh, Sirius, I don't know what to do with it anymore. Since she doesn't want it, maybe I should just throw it out—"

Jolie bolted straight up and stared at James, "You got me the sweater?"

And out of the blue, James brandished a beautifully wrapped box with 'Happy Birthday, Sis' written in big, bold letters. "I'll just throw it away, then. What a waste of money and time—"

Jolie ran up to James and knocked him to the floor. "Give it to me!" She screeched. She and James were wrestling for the gift. "Not until you thank me!" James stuck his tongue out and Jolie froze.

"Thank you, brother," she batted her eyelashes and James handed her the box. Jolie squealed and threw her arms around James, knocking him to the floor again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I _love _you, James Potter!"

"Wait till you see my gift," Sirius commented.

"Oh, save it, Padfoot," James stood up and Jolie was soon pulling the sweater over her head. "Give her _your _gift _later!_" He whispered.

Sirius mouthed, "Oh yeah," and gave James a thumbs up. "Whoa, hold on," Sirius grabbed Jolie's arm. "You've still got the tag on," Sirius told her as he removed the tag.

"James Potter, you buy me a gift and forget to take off the tag?" Jolie chuckled and James shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought you didn't like gifts," James teased.

Jolie searched for a reasonable rebuttal. "I'm only tolerating it now because you're a relative."

James winked at Sirius and whispered, "No, she's lying."

If last night, Jolie went all high strung and temperamental on James and Lily, today she was much happier than usual. She looked as if she was never upset at James and Lily at all.

The door opened. It was Lily. She gaped at Sirius and James. Then she eyed Jolie's new sweater. "You already gave it to her, and you didn't wait for me?!"

"It was the only way I could get her out of bed!" James said defensively while shielding himself from Lily's blow he imagined would come. Luckily for James, there was nothing.

"I love that sweater," Lily said. "If it wasn't your birthday, that would've been mine," she joked and Jolie laughed.

"Right then," Sirius rubbed his hands together. "I have GOT to give you your gift from me already." Sirius grabbed Jolie's wrist and lead her to the boys' dormitory. James and Lily followed. When they arrived, Sirius got on all fours and pulled something from under his bed. "You didn't know this," he said, "but I recently discovered that I can actually paint!"

"Oh joy," James sniggered.

Sirius stood up and he was holding a frame. "I did this from memory. If you're wondering why I stare at you when we're in the Great Hall sometimes, this is the answer."

A smile crept up Jolie's face. "Sirius Black," she said, "what have you been up to?" Sirius gave her the frame and she felt butterflies in her stomach when she turned it over to see the work Sirius had done on it.

Jolie stared at the painting. It was a portrait of herself from head to shoulders, looking in another direction, smiling at an unseen person.

"Sirius…" she was speechless. "It's so brilliant. I never knew you could do this!"

"Apparently, neither did I," said Sirius.

"You're so wonderful, Black," Jolie laughed and hugged Sirius. "It's beautiful."

"You're beautiful," Sirius smiled when they let go of each other. "Your eyes… those were the first things I started to work on. James actually thought I was painting him at first."

James scoffed and Jolie laughed, "Yeah, because we've got the same hazel eyes, don't we, James?" Jolie turned to the door, "Just a moment, guys. I'm going to hang this."

Jolie quickly left. Suddenly, Lily smirked, "Everything is going according to plan."

"What's your gift for her, again?" James asked Lily.

"Shoes are easily a girl's best friend. Even Jolie won't have a hard time agreeing on that," Lily said knowingly.

James, Sirius and Lily all heard footsteps before Jolie entered the boys' dormitory again. Jolie was carrying a pair of sensible boots. "Lily," she said slowly, smiling, "This came from you, didn't it? I found it under my bed."

Lily pretended to look shocked. "Why in the world do you think it's from me?"

Jolie raised an eyebrow. "Okay, yeah, it is from me," Lily rolled her eyes, grinning.

"I—_love_—it," Jolie pronounced every word with articulation, "Thank you for these!"

"Oh, no worries," Lily and Jolie shared a hug. Afterwards, Jolie waved her wand and the boots disappeared from the room, "There," she said. "They're back in the girls' dormitory."

Out of the blue, there was a knock on the door. Jolie did not hesitate in opening it. "Oh. Peter," Jolie greeted the boy, "hi."

"Hi, Jo," Peter smiled awkwardly, "H-happy eighteenth."

Jolie smiled, "Thanks, Pete. This is unexpected."

Peter got something from his pocket and quickly shoved it in Jolie's hands. "It's… it's mokeskin. You can put anything in there, and no one but the owner of it can get the things out…" Peter trailed away.

"Hey," Jolie patted his shoulder, "Thanks. This'll come in handy."

"W-well," Peter shuffled his feet, "I better get going."

"Hey, Wormtail!" Sirius called after him. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend. Hang out with us for once, will you?"

"Uhm, well I… okay, I will."

"Right," Lily smiled at Jolie. "Let's go to Hogsmeade. We're all complete now."

"No, we're not. Remus isn't here," Jolie said.

It was as if nobody heard her. "Come on, Sis!" James pulled Jolie away from the boys' dormitory.

* * *

"You four are up to something," Jolie sniggered, "I can sense it. There's deception and secrecy dripping in your words!"

"No, we're not," James scoffed, "You, silly girl."

Jolie, James, Lily, Peter and Sirius were walking in the streets of Hogsmeade. "Psst," they heard from a corner.

"Who's that?" Jolie asked. She turned her head and saw Severus beckoning her to come to him. She smiled. "Just a second, guys," she wriggled free from James and she was absolutely sure he was rolling his eyes.

"Snivellus again," James muttered and shared a knowing look with Sirius.

Severus shot James and Sirius a look as well before turning to Jolie. "Happy birthday," he whispered, "I brew you something."

Jolie smiled at him wider, "Aw, you shouldn't have."

"You're wrong. I should have," and he smiled back a quick smile. He handed her a bottle of what looked like molten gold. "It's Felix Felicis. Liquid luck. It's worth twenty four hours of perfectness."

Jolie shook her head, disbelieving. "I can't believe you're all doing this for me. It's only my birthday."

"Birthdays are important," Severus said his rebuttal, "Take care of it, and use it wisely. It's for ordinary days only, okay? Don't go breaking the law," he chuckled softly. Then he saw Lily, James, Sirius and Peter waiting for her. He and Peter glanced for a while but nobody appeared to notice. "You… you better go. Your friends are waiting for you."

"Bye," Jolie smiled while pocketing the potion. "Thanks again."

Severus nodded once and Jolie left him.

"Well?" James asked when they continued going through Hogsmeade together with Jolie. "What was that about?"

"It's nothing, James," Jolie waved an airy hand. "He's a friend, and he was so thoughtful to give me something for my eighteenth. I asked him not to, though," she chuckled.

"What did he give you?" asked Peter. Jolie replied, "Felix Felicis. Worth twenty four hours. Isn't he brilliant?"

Peter looked aghast but he hid his face. "Y-yeah. Brilliant."

Jolie, however, wasn't fooled. She saw the look on Peter Pettigrew's face and then she was suddenly reminded of why she wasn't very fond of him unlike the other Marauders. She vowed to herself that she would definitely find out what was going on with him. There was something fishy.

"Ah, here we are," Sirius gestured Jolie to a nice little meadow just a little bit away from the Hogsmeade shops.

"What is this place?" asked Jolie.

"A little unexplored, untouched Hogsmeade land. Beautiful, isn't it?" Lily answered. Jolie nodded.

The meadow was very green, with short, wooden fences as borders. It overlooked all the rest of Hogsmeade. To one side, was some sort of small forest. The sun shone brightly.

Jolie couldn't help but laugh softly. "What are we doing here?" However, there was no reply. Jolie's smile faded and she turned around. Lily, James, Sirius and Peter were no longer with her anymore. They had left her alone.

Jolie walked a little bit forward, just as a cool gentle breeze came on. She took a deep breath and momentarily closed her eyes, marveling at the beauty of it all. This kind of view went unnoticed in Hogsmeade.

Jolie jerked when she felt a finger tap her shoulder twice. She swished around, eyes wide. And then she saw that familiar, handsome face with that gorgeous head of dirty blonde hair. Jolie hadn't noticed it until now, but Remus' hair had grown much longer. The sun shone on his face, and she smiled as he took Jolie's hands in his and pulled her closer to him. Jolie looked into Remus' eyes and smiled back. He leaned in closer and they didn't hesitate to share a kiss—finally.

Their foreheads touched, and the warmth of the morning sun wrapped them in what seemed like an embrace. She ran her hands through his hair. She had been missing the feeling for too long. Remus kissed her again and Jolie held on tighter to him.

"Happy Birthday," Remus said in a voice above a whisper, "I love you."

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**i dunno about you guys, but i think i just fell even more in love with Remus here! WHOOT! he's hawt. :") HEEHEE. :)) reviews? ;;) i shall not update till reviews reach 43. :D**


	15. We'll Be A Dream

**hello, all! :) here's the latest chapter on The Dawn Of A New Day. :) thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

**Btw, I have posted a NEW story, it's Aro/Jane, requested by TTCyclone as a prize as the 120th reviewer on my other story, The Warmth Of A Cold Heart. :) **

**I am in love with the song I used as inspiration in this chapter, I suggest you guys listen to it. :")**

**One last thing. In this chapter, Jolie acknowledges the fact that she has learned how to be an Animagus. :) To see the animal she turns into, you can go to this link:**

**www[dot]pictures-of-cats[dot]org[slash]images[slash]ragdoll-large-cat[dot]jpg  
**

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14. WE'LL BE A DREAM

"_Do you remember the nights we made our way dreaming? Hoping of being someone big; we were so young then, we were too crazy in love."_

_- We'll Be A Dream by We The Kings feat. Demi Lovato_

"Remus," Jolie chuckled, "I told you not to do anything for my birthday."

Remus ran his hands around Jolie's waist while saying playfully, "Mmm, well this is a time when I won't listen to you."

Jolie laughed and kissed Remus on the lips again. "I miss this."

"You don't have to anymore."

There was silence. Then, "I have something for you, by the way," Remus said a bit seriously. "It's from Dumbledore."

It was a small note. Jolie opened it. The note says that Dumbledore would like to see Jolie in his office later. There was also a happy birthday greeting on it. Jolie smiled at the note and she heard Remus chuckle softly. "What's this about?" Jolie asked. Remus only shrugged. "I honestly have no idea," he smiled, "You'll have to see for yourself, I guess."

Suddenly, Jolie felt like she was spinning. It was another one of her visions. It's been a long time since her last.

_There was a man seated in the corner of a compartment on a train. Suddenly, three young teenagers entered the compartment. Two boys, one girl. One boy looked extraordinarily like James, but with Lily's eyes. The other boy had freckles and red hair, and the girl had somewhat big front teeth and she had bushy, curly hair._

_The man seated in the corner was asleep, and his robes were very shabby. He looked so very tired and sick, and his hair was a dirty blonde color, but he had a few gray hairs already, though it was evident that he was still quite young._

_The boy with red hair whispered, "Who'd you reckon he is?"_

_The three teenagers took their seats and the girl replied, "Professor R. J. Lupin."_

"_How'd you know that?" The boy with red hair frowned._

"_It's on his suitcase, Ronald," the girl replied as if it was obvious._

"_Wonder what he teaches?"_

"_That's obvious. There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against The Dark Arts."_

_The boy named 'Ronald' looked doubtful at Professor R. J. Lupin. "Well, I hope he's up to it. He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway…"_

When Jolie's mind settled back on the present times, she chuckled. She didn't know why she saw that vision, or what significance it held. But it was amusing. Jolie chuckled again. "Professor R. J. Lupin," she laughed.

"What?" Remus looked amused. "You okay? You kind of… blacked out there. Just a bit."

"I'm fine," Jolie assured him. "Tell me, did you ever consider being a Hogwarts teacher?"

Remus laughed, "No."

"Don't be so sure," Jolie replied.

Remus smirked and tugged on her shirt, "What's that vision you got, huh?"

"Oh, _nothing_," Jolie teased. "And you know I can't and won't tell you, so give it up."

There was another moment of silence, only to be broken by Remus. "I love you," he said simply. Jolie looked up at him and smiled. She ran her hands through his hair. "You need a haircut," she giggled. Remus rolled his eyes.

"I have good news," she said. "I've learned to be an Animagus."

Remus looked at her and smiled excitedly, "Congratulations, then!" he laughed. "What do you turn into?"

"A rag doll."

Remus looked at her as if she was joking. "It's a kind of cat," Jolie explained, laughing. "It's supposed to have blue eyes."

"Show me."

Jolie didn't say anything, but immediately shrunk to the ground, into a chunky, white furred cat. However, the cat's eyes were not blue as Jolie had said. They were exactly the same color Jolie's eyes were: warm, round, and hazel.

Jolie turned back into her human form.

"Your eyes are still hazel," Remus smiled.

"Yeah, that was one thing that'll stay."

"You're unregistered, aren't you?"

Jolie put a finger to her mouth, telling Remus to hush down. "I'm an illegal animagus, so sue me," she winked. Remus laughed lightly. "Now I can accompany you tonight with the Marauders," Jolie added.

Remus' smile faded away a little bit. "Oh. Full moon tonight."

"Don't worry about it," Jolie pecked him on the cheek. "You'll be fine. We'll be there for you. And I'll be there, too. Finally."

Remus opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He put his hand in his pocket, as if checking something. He looked a little bit nervous, and unsure what to say.

"You alright?" asked Jolie.

Remus smiled momentarily. "I'm… I'm a bit nervous."

"I can tell," Jolie said gently. "But you're a strong person, Rem. Your transformations are—"

"No, no. Not that. Well, I'm nervous about full moon, too, but that's not what I'm really thinking about right now."

Silence.

"What's wrong?" Jolie frowned.

"Nothing's wrong," Remus assured her. "In fact, everything is fine. Everything is perfect. I love you," he kissed her again.

Jolie pouted. "You're hiding something from me."

"What? No!"

"There's something you're not telling me."

"I wouldn't hide anything from you. And if I am hiding anything from you now, you'd obviously know about it later on. Besides, I know you'd do the same for me."

"….Yeah," Jolie smiled. She was struck by what Remus said. She almost had her entire mind off 'the baby', but then it hit her again like a ton of bricks. "I love you, you know that?"

Remus put his hands on either side of her face. "I love you. More."

* * *

"You're an insufferable coward," James glared.

"You're a terrible boyfriend," Sirius gritted his teeth.

"And I thought you were smart," Lily said.

Remus put his hands in front of him in defense. He was in the common room with Lily, Sirius and James. "Look, I just postponed it, okay? I promise to ask her later today!"

"What part of proposing don't you understand?" Sirius, James and Lily whined together.

James grabbed Remus' collar, "How am I supposed to be your best man if you're not even getting married?"

"How am _I _supposed to be maid of honor?" Lily put her hands on her hips.

"You will be! I'm not getting married today, okay! Besides, your wedding with James should go first, Lils—"

"Oh, you better propose to Jo soon, or else I will," Sirius taunted.

"Oh, _haha, _very funny," Remus rolled his eyes.

"Where is Jo anyway?" asked James.

"She went to Dumbledore's," Remus answered.

"Everything did go well in Hogsmeade, right?" Lily inquired. "I mean, we didn't bring her all the way there for nothing."

"It was really good, thanks. Jo and I had a great time."

Sirius flopped down on one of the armchairs. "It would've been a greater time if you actually _proposed._"

Remus couldn't help but chuckle. "It's like you guys are more excited than I am."

* * *

"Professor Dumbledore?" Jolie entered the Headmaster's office.

"Ah, Miss Potter. I thought I'd see you today. Happy eighteenth," Dumbledore smiled.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Come here. I have something I want to show you."

Jolie came to Dumbledore's desk and waited for him to speak. "Now," he said. "I take it you've been having visions?"

Jolie smiled as she recalled the memory, "Just a new one today, Sir."

Dumbledore smiled as well and opened a small drawer. He took out a golden necklace that had a tiny hourglass as a pendant. "Do you know what this is, Miss Potter?"

Jolie stared at the necklace. "That's a time turner."

"Precisely. However, it is a bit stronger than the time turners given out to students here at Hogwarts."

"How so?"

Professor Dumbledore handed her the time turner and explained, "The time turners we give out here for our students can turn hours, and at the most, a few days. That is because it is solely for the use of classes and school. However, this one can turn days, months… even years."

Jolie's lips parted and she tore her eyes away from the time turner to look at Dumbledore. "Can this… can this time turner get one to the future, Sir?"

"Why, yes it can," Dumbledore replied. "Time turners can turn time to the past or to the future. It is just that people are more accustomed to turning time to visit the past."

Silence.

Jolie eyed the room, and eyed Dumbledore's desk. To her surprise, his calendar was dated October 20, 1993. She frowned. "Sir," she said tentatively, "It's April 15, 1976 today."

"Yes, Miss Potter," Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs. "I am quite aware of that."

"Then why…?" Jolie looked at the calendar, then looked at Dumbledore, then looked at the time turner. "Nevermind."

"You may leave now, Miss Potter."

Jolie frowned, confused. He handed Dumbledore his time turner back. "No," Dumbledore said gently, "That belongs to you."

Jolie opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. "Happy eighteenth," Dumbledore said cheerfully again.

"Thank you," Jolie replied uncertainly. She left the office, but stayed at the door, admiring the time turner.

And then she suddenly had an idea.

She looked around to check if no one was in the halls, and luckily, she was safe. She put the time turner around her neck and twisted the tiny hourglass pendant between her fingers.

She smiled, a thrill of adventure, excitement and nervousness filling her body.

Jolie turned the hourglass pendant over as she set the date on the time turner.

_October 20, 1993.

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_

**OOOOOH. :) I'm a bit excited, aren't you? Reviews, lovelies! ;) No updates till reviews reach 50. :D**_  
_


	16. Time

**I ENJOYED WRITING THIS CHAPTER, I SWEAR. I hope you guys enjoy it as well! :)**

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15. TIME

"_Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain. You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today. And then the one day you find ten years have got behind you, no one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."_

_- Time by Pink Floyd_

The time turner kept on turning, turning, turning. Jolie looked around and everything was going and moving as if it was a movie being fast forwarded. Finally, everything slowed down until it finally came to a stop. It was daytime, and there were no students in the halls. Jolie looked behind her. The door to the Headmaster's office looked exactly the same. She entered.

From a short distance, she saw an older Professor Dumbledore with a longer, whiter beard, signing a few papers with a quill in his hand. Jolie could hear the quill against the parchments.

Dumbledore looked up from his desk and saw Jolie at the door. He looked at her as if a memory was suddenly triggered in his mind. He looked at his calendar. It was October 20, 1993.

Dumbledore looked at Jolie again and saw the time turner she was holding in her hand. Unexpectedly, he smiled a genuine smile. "I thought I'd see you today, Miss Potter."

Jolie smiled as well. "Good day, Professor."

Dumbledore looked at the grandfather clock and then said, "I suggest you go to the staffroom. I believe you will find the happenings there rather interesting."

Jolie nodded.

"Oh, and please keep a low profile, Miss Potter," Dumbledore added. "You will find that some people here will still… ah, recognize you."

"Yes, Sir."

"And I also suggest you wear some Hogwarts robes. I have a couple of spares in the cupboard near the door."

Jolie walked to the cupboard Dumbledore pointed out and she saw two Gryffindor robes that were unused. She quickly put it on and it thankfully had a perfect fit. "Thank you, Professor."

"Excellent," Dumbledore smiled again. "Now, off you go."

Jolie exited the Headmaster's office and headed downstairs to the staffroom. She walked briskly down the stairs, passing students whom she did not recognize. Some students looked at her twice, maybe because they were wondering who she was and why they'd never seen her before.

When Jolie reached the staffroom, she heard a slightly familiar voice, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Jolie walked towards the voice and saw that there were two men standing in front of each other. One had greasy black hair, and a hooked nose, a man Jolie recognized as an older Severus. However, there was something different about him—it was like all the warmth she was accustomed to with the younger Severus was all gone.

The other man had shabby, tatty robes. He had dirty blonde hair that was flecked with gray and Jolie knew right away he was the same man she had seen in her vision earlier that day. Professor R. J. Lupin. She felt her breath hitch in her throat. She was looking at the man she loved. Well, the older version of him, really.

Remus spoke, "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably."

Jolie smiled at how Remus was so considerate of others. Even after seventeen years, he had not changed.

Jolie sneakily crept up to the back of the class, pretending to be one of Professor R. J. Lupin's students from Gryffindor.

Next thing Jolie heard, Severus had shut the door with a snap.

"Now then," Remus beckoned the class to come closer. It was an empty room, with only a shaking, banging wardrobe on one side. "Nothing to worry about," Remus pointed to the wardrobe, "There's a boggart in there."

There were a few gasps.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks—I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock."

Jolie saw Remus smile a little. Jolie smiled, too, recalling the memory of the boggart in the grandfather clock she and Remus had encountered in the Gryffindor common room.

"So," Remus continued, "the first question we must ask ourselves is, what _is _a boggart?"

The girl with bushy curly hair Jolie had seen in her vision raised her hand. "It's a shape-shifter. It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself. So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed formed. He does not know yet what will frighten the person on the other side of the door…"

Remus continued to talk, but Jolie's attention was diverted when she looked behind her and she saw a rat being chased by a furry, ginger cat outside the door. She snuck out of the room, and ran after the cat. It must've looked a little bit stupid, a rat being chased by a cat, and a cat being chased by a human.

But Jolie knew _that_ rat. She couldn't be wrong. It was Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form. What was he doing at Hogwarts as a rat?

Jolie stopped in front of the library. She didn't want to wander off too far, as this wasn't her time. This was 1993, for God's sake.

Jolie sighed, and looked around—Hogwarts hadn't really changed at all. Jolie entered the school library and it was still Madam Pince who was the librarian. Jolie chuckled. She took a look at the newspaper racks and got out one of The Daily Prophet issues.

It was on the front page. A horrible looking photograph of a haunted looking man, obviously screaming at the photographer, was very noticeable on the front cover. Jolie read the article.

_Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer, has escaped from Azkaban after twelve years of imprisonment. Black is well known as a supporter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and as the murderer of Peter Pettigrew and thirteen other innocent muggles. There have been some recent sightings of Black, in small towns such as_

Jolie couldn't go on. She wanted to throw the newspaper in fire. Sirius Black, a murderer? Not only that, but a 'notorious mass murderer'?

"This is rubbish," she muttered as she yanked The Daily Prophet back in the newspaper rack. Sirius, Peter's murderer? Yeah, right. Peter wasn't dead. Jolie just saw him a while ago, as a rat. Her face was etched with disgust and shock. "Lies," she muttered to herself.

"Excuse me," sneered a voice from behind.

Jolie looked behind her. It was Severus. He spoke again, "May I know what you are doing in the library at this time of the day? Classes are ongoing as of the moment, Miss—?"

"Uhm," Jolie said as she wracked her brains to make up a fake name, "Newell. My name is… uhm, my name is Samantha Newell."

"Are you sure?" Severus sneered again. "You don't seem certain of your own name, _Miss Newell_."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Jolie laughed inwardly. She found it awkward to call Severus that. "I was just startled when you came."

There was silence. Severus stared at her, very, very intrigued. It was impossible, Severus thought. She looked exactly like Jolie Potter, and Severus noticed. He spoke again, "What year are you in, Miss Newell?"

Jolie wracked her brains again. She was at Remus' class earlier, which year were those students in his class in? "I'm in third year, Professor Snape," she replied.

"You don't look like a thirteen year old," Snape sneered again.

"I'm mature for my age, Sir," she shrugged.

"Should you not be in Professor Lupin's class?"

Jolie opened her mouth to answer but then closed it again. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. "God dammit, don't do this to me, Sev!"

Professor Snape was appalled.

"Okay, _fine, _my name is not Samantha Newell, it's Jolie Potter."

Severus' expression was blank. Surprisingly, he let out a small chuckle. "I thought so," he said triumphantly. Out of the blue, Severus laughed. "What in the world are you doing here?"

Jolie could hear the young Severus she was so accustomed to now. "Well, remember my eighteenth birthday? You even gave me Felix Felicis."

Severus nodded. Jolie continued, "Dumbledore gave me this," she held out her time turner.

Severus look confused. "Aren't you a seer? Aren't you supposed to leave time alone and not meddle with it?"

Jolie rolled her eyes. "Yes, but I'm not meddling time or changing anything, see? I'm just observing. Besides, Dumbledore told me to go to this date. October 20, 1993. I've witnessed a lot of interesting things," she smirked.

"Dumbledore _told_ you to go to this date?" Severus looked skeptical. In a corner, Madam Pince was eyeing the student and the professor suspiciously.

Jolie looked around, "Oh, but please don't tell him I told you about all this—I promised Professor Dumbledore I'd keep a low profile."

Severus snorted. Madam Pince frowned, still observing them.

Jolie checked the time. "I think I better go back to class now."

"Hurry. Or else you'll miss the last few minutes of Defense Against the Dark Arts," Severus muttered.

Jolie left the library, and left Severus, heading for the classroom again. On her way, she saw Peter as a rat again in one corner. She felt something was wrong—something was out of place… but she couldn't exactly point it out.

She stared at the rat, and the rat stared at her. "Peter?" she whispered. But then the rat scurried off away from her.

Jolie shook her head, as if she thought she was imagining things. There could be no mistake, absolutely no mistake. That _was _Peter.

When Jolie finally entered the classroom, she saw a huge spider. "Riddikulus!" bellowed the boy she recognized as 'Ronald' from her vision. The spider's legs vanished and it rolled and came to a halt at a boy's feet. When Jolie looked closely at who that boy was, she realized it was Harry.

Harry Potter.

She smiled inwardly when she looked at him.

All of a sudden, Remus hurried forward in front of Harry, separating him from the boggart. "Here!" Remus shouted.

The spider vanished, but it transformed into a silvery white orb in front of Remus. Jolie knew instantly what it was.

The full moon.

"Riddikulus!" Remus said lazily, "Forward, Neville, and finish him off!"

The boggart turned into Professor Snape, the boy named Neville charged it and casted, "Riddikulus!" Professor Boggart Snape was forced into a lacy dress before it exploded into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke.

"Excellent!" said Remus and the class burst into applause. "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone… Let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart—ten for Neville because he did it twice… and five each to Hermione and Harry."

Harry muttered, "But I didn't do anything."

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Remus replied, "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me… to be handed on Monday. That will be all."

The class was talking excitedly, obviously loving their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Jolie stayed by the doorway as the class left the room. She was watching Remus as he packed up some stuff, and she couldn't help but smile.

"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" Jolie heard Ronald say.

The girl with them, whom Jolie thought was named Hermione, replied, "He seems like a very good teacher. But I wish I could've had a turn with the boggart—"

"What would it have been for you? A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?"

Jolie chuckled lightly as the trio left the room. She was all alone now, watching Remus pack. He turned around to get something, but then spotted her. At first, he was a bit stunned upon seeing her, but Jolie just had a calm expression on her face, with a light smile.

Remus noticed that this student looked amazingly like Jolie. He opened his mouth to ask her something but Jolie quickly said, "Good lesson, Professor Lupin. You're a really good teacher. The, uhm… best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had." And then she left, leaving Remus gaping, wondering, amazed.

But Remus had no doubts that it was Jolie. He knew her well enough to recognize her even from a long distance. He could recognize her even if she was pretending to be something else. That was how much he loved her.

And he knew that that girl who just spoke to him was no Gryffindor student… well, at least she was—seventeen years ago.

* * *

**the next chapter is actually my fave chapter in TDOAND so far. So reviews, lovelies! Because I won't be updating till reviews reach... Hmm, let's say, 55. :) That's only a bit!**


	17. Like You'll Never See Me Again

**welcome to my fave chappie on TDOAND so far. :D so, i was watching So You Think You Can Dance, and Courtney & Will danced this slow hip hop with the Alicia Keys song, 'Like You'll Never See Me Again'. :") It was pretty inspiring, so I chose to quote it here in this chapter! :D**

**alright. I won't be doing the, 'no updates till reviews reach blah blah blah' because SCHOOL JUST STARTED. :-S I'll update as often as I can, I promise, but you guys know how school can be at times! :(**

**i hope you like this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it. :)  
**

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16. LIKE YOU'LL NEVER SEE ME AGAIN

"_Every time you touch me, touch me like this is the last time. Promise that you'll love me. Love me like you'll never see me again."_

_Like You'll Never See Me Again by Alicia Keys_

Jolie left the classroom, quite pleased with herself. She took the time turner in her hand, and decided she would like to visit a different day—just out of curiosity and fun. Besides, it was her birthday. And she had no intentions whatsoever of changing the flow of events.

She set the date on her time turner to the first week of November. The hourglass pendant kept on turning, and Jolie saw the things around her move fast forwarded. It was after lunchtime when her surroundings started to slow down. Jolie looked around and there were students in the halls, going to their respective classes.

She spotted Hermione and Ronald and decided to ask them something. "Excuse me, what class do we have next? I've lost my schedule," Jolie lied.

It was Hermione who answered, "We've got Defense Against The Dark Arts." However, the couple looked at her, a little bit confused, as if they had never even seen her in their entire lives. Well, it was true, at least.

* * *

"Sorry, I'm late Professor Lupin, I—"

Harry entered the classroom. Everyone turned their heads, including Jolie. She saw Harry's shoulders drop a bit when he realized it was not Professor Lupin teaching the subject today.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter," Severus sneered, "so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down."

Harry didn't sit down. "Where's Professor Lupin?" Jolie admired his nerve.

Severus smiled a bit awkwardly. "He says he is feeling too ill to teach today. I believe I told you to sit down?"

"What's wrong with him?" Harry kept his composure.

Severus stared at Harry. "Nothing life-threatening," his words were dripping with sarcasm, "Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty."

Harry walked across the room and decided to take a seat next to Jolie. Jolie said nothing. She avoided eye contact with him, though she would occasionally peer over at Harry.

Severus spoke, "As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far—"

"Please, Sir," Hermione butted in, "we've done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows. And we're just about to start—"

Severus replied coldly, "Be quiet. I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

Jolie shook her head a little bit, surprised at this 'new' Severus. He was very cold and snappy, not the one she loved and adored, the young Severus who is her friend back in 1976.

A boy spoke up boldly, "He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had," and the class made some noises in agreement.

Jolie looked at Harry and saw that he had opened his notes in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Can I borrow that?" she asked timidly. "Sure," Harry replied lazily.

Yes, Hermione was correct indeed: the class had covered boggarts, Red Caps, kappas and grindylows. Their next lesson was supposed to be on hinkypunks. Jolie handed Harry back his notes.

However, Severus still had something to say. "You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you—I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss… werewolves."

Jolie's eyebrows shot up in shock. "But _Sir_," she objected, looking at Severus knowingly, "we're not supposed to do _werewolves_ yet, we're due to start _hinkypunks_—"

"Miss _Newell_," Severus looked at Jolie knowingly as well, however, his stare was cold and sneering, "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you to turn to page 394. _All _of you! _Now!_"

Severus and Jolie stared at each other for a while. When he looked away from her, he said, "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?"

Nobody spoke, but Hermione and Jolie had their hands raised. Severus ignored them.

"Anyone? Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between—"

"We told you," Jolie put her hand down, "we haven't gone as far as _werewolves _yet_," _Jolie put stress on the word, "We're still on—"

"_Silence!_" Severus snarled at her and Jolie glared. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are…"

"Please, Sir, the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf—" Hermione persisted.

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger. Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Ronald burst out. "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"

"Detention, Weasley. And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."

Jolie muttered loud enough for Severus to hear. "Rubbish."

The class looked nervously at Jolie (some of them frowned, wondering who she was) but they were surprised when Professor Snape did not give her any detention.

Later on in the class, Professor Snape went bashing on the work the class had done with Professor Lupin. Severus gave them homework—an essay on werewolves, how to recognize and kill them, two rolls of parchment.

When the whole class was gone, Jolie made sure she stayed behind.

"What?" Snape asked coldly.

Jolie crossed her arms and shook her head. "You're doing this on purpose."

"I am not. The third year class is indeed behind—and why in the world are you here again? I thought last month was the last time I would see the seventeen year old Jolie."

"None of your business, now, is it?" Jolie replied in an equally cold tone. "You're honestly a horrible teacher. And that's me speaking, Sev."

Severus said nothing.

"Don't you want to be like Remus? Everyone loves him."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Not when they find out what he truly is. Besides, Jolie. It's better to be feared than to be loved."

"Aha," Jolie pointed a finger at him, "So you are doing it on purpose! And, you think it's better to be feared? Sev, the class doesn't _fear _you. They _hate _you."

Severus advanced to her and muttered, "You're not supposed to meddle with the events. This isn't your time."

* * *

Later that day, Jolie decided to head back to 1976. But she had one last thing to do.

Jolie headed to the office of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, hoping Remus was there. When she opened the door without knocking, Remus didn't even notice her.

"Professor Lupin?"

Remus jumped, not expecting anyone. He stared at her, awed, but said nothing. He was looking horrible. The circles under his eyes were darker than ever, his robes were shabby, his hair looked like he had just woken up, and he had a fair amount of gray hair.

"Sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to startle you."

Remus spoke. "Uhm… yes. Well, take a seat, Miss…?"

"Newell. Samantha Newell."

Remus nodded slowly. "I haven't seen you in any of my classes, Miss Newell. Except for one."

"Yes, Sir. Well…" Jolie trailed off, and she was thankful Remus didn't press on the topic any further.

"Cup of tea?" Remus looked around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one."

"Sure. Thanks, Professor."

Remus waved his wand and steam came out of the kettle. "I only have teabags, I'm afraid. But I take it, you've had enough of tea leaves? With Divination and all," he chuckled, and Jolie had to resist the temptation to jump on him and hug him.

Jolie chuckled as well. "Yes. No more tea leaves."

There was silence as Remus handed Jolie a chipped mug of tea. Jolie stared at him and asked, "How are you, Sir?"

Remus looked up from his mug, his eyebrows raised. "Hmm? I'm quite well, thank you."

"It doesn't look like it," Jolie smiled calmly. "You look like you could use some sleep, Professor. Have you been staying up all night?"

Remus' already pale face drained of color, and Jolie knew to instantly change the topic.

"Did you ever think of being a Hogwarts teacher in your childhood, Sir?" she asked innocently.

"Uhm," Remus seemed relieved on the sudden change of subject, "Not really. I must admit, when Professor Dumbledore rang me to take the job…"

Jolie smiled at him. Remus smiled back, a familiar gleam in his eye.

"Sir," Jolie asked tentatively, "What's all the hullaballoo about Sirius Black?"

Remus looked surprised. Everyone knew about Sirius Black, especially now. Everyone. Except _this_ one girl…

"Well," he replied, "he's a convicted murderer. He's the most wanted man in the country right now. And he's escaped from Azkaban."

"But that's impossible."

"Exactly," Remus shrugged. "He's the first one who's done it. Everyone's amazed at how he even managed to come out of there alive, undetected."

"No," Jolie shook her head. "I don't mean that."

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "Hmm?"

"I meant it's impossible that—well, honestly. Sirius Black _can't _be a mass murderer. It's ridiculous."

Remus was taken aback. Jolie continued, "I take it you and him knew each other at school, Sir?"

Remus nodded. "As a matter of fact… Yes, we were friends at Hogwarts. I knew him. Or at least… I thought I did."

"So," Jolie wondered, "you must've known James Potter as well?"

Remus smiled sadly. "We were also friends, yes."

"And Lily Evans?"

Remus chuckled. "Lily _Potter_," he corrected her.

"Where are they now, Professor?"

Remus' smile faded. "They're dead, Miss Newell," he said as if it was obvious.

"Yes, I knew that," Jolie lied. "I just meant—oh, nevermind."

Silence.

"So you must've known Peter Pettigrew as well?"

Remus nodded again. "Yes. Sad death he met, I must say."

"Sad death?" Jolie raised one eyebrow. Peter was _not _dead.

However, Remus nodded again. He suddenly said, "Funny, how you seem to know who my friends were when I was at school," he had a suspicious look in his eyes. "Are you friends with Harry Potter, Miss Newell?"

Jolie shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Not quite."

Remus eyed her. "You look _extraordinarily_ like someone I know. It's rather amazing, if I must say so myself."

Jolie looked at the time, and peeked over at her time turner. It was time for her to get back to 1976. "Sir… I better get going," she smiled. "Homework, and… stuff."

Remus nodded once, and he thanked her for the nice chat. Jolie headed to the door, but before she left, she asked one more question. "Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Do you… do you know Jolie Potter?"

Remus sat on an armchair and he laughed. "Yes, I do."

Jolie smiled at him. "Where is she now?"

Remus hesitated a little before answering, but smiled nonetheless.

"She's my wife."


	18. Scream

**damn. :| i really, really feel so bad for remus in this chapter.**

**AND YES! i'm back! :D hello, people. sorry for the long wait. :( anyway, i might be updating TWOACH tomorrow. :) i've had so much on my plate these days! No. 1: GLEE (not the show, but really Glee); No. 2: VOICE LESSONS; No. 3: DANCE LESSONS.**

**Anybody else into the arts? ;;)**

**soooo. reviews are very much appreciated. i won't elaborate much on this chapter because i'm feeling lazy. :P If you have any questions, though... just post me a review and i'll answer it in the next chappie! :D**

**oh, and for CaraGrace: yes, they do get married. originally, they don't, of course. she dies (The Dark Side of The Moon!). :( but since this is an alternative ending, i'm making it happy, and i'm actually defying the real story of HP, unlike what i did in TDSOTM, which was to REALLY follow the HP plot. ;) hope that helps!**

**plus, i am really very sorry for not updating in about... FOREVER. :| but, hey! heeeeeere's chapter 17! :D  
**

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17. SCREAM

Jolie stood in front of the door of Dumbledore's office, time turner in her hand. She was already back in her own time, and she didn't rush. She just stood there, pondering at the last thing she heard Remus say. Well, the older Remus, for that matter.

_She's my wife._

She didn't know whether to be insanely shocked that she and Remus actually did go that far, or to be incredibly joyous that she really does marry the man the loves. Nonetheless, she felt both. After all, love is simple—but complicated at the same time.

Tucking the time turner in her shirt, she looked at the big clock on the arch of the wall. It was around four in the afternoon, and she started walking back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Have you guys seen Jolie?" Remus asked his friends, obviously anxious. He was holding a small velvet box in his hand.

Lily smiled a bit. "She's just around. I'm sure she'll be here any moment. You don't have to worry."

James stared at Remus and he couldn't help in chuckle inwardly. It really was a funny sight to see Remus deep in thought, turning a velvet box in his hand, pacing in the common room, and occasionally looking at the window, or sitting down on a chair. But it wasn't only that that made him laugh. He was actually really happy for his friend and sister.

"Quit sniggering, Prongs," Remus leaned on an armchair. "You're making me feel worse."

"Oh, cool down, Moony," Sirius yawned as he stretched freely on the couch.

"What if she says no?" Remus frowned.

"Does she have any reason to say no?" Sirius raised an eyebrow, teasing. "She can't say no to you, Moony."

Lily twitched uncomfortably in her seat. She and James glanced at each other. Unfortunately, Remus caught their actions. He frowned. "What's going on?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked in a slightly higher, unnatural voice.

"It's like you're both hiding something."

James popped a Pumpkin Pasty in his mouth, shook his head and shrugged. "No," he spoke while chewing.

"You are," Remus' eyes narrowed. "James, you always do that when you have a secret."

"Do what?" James asked defensively.

"Eating while people grill you with questions," Remus pocketed the velvet box. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Moony," Lily rolled her eyes, "Jeez."

Remus sighed, very much upset. But James and Lily's secrecy wasn't the only thing that made him feel this way. There were three other things that bugged him as well. First, there was the fact that it was already late afternoon, and he still hasn't proposed to Jolie. Second, he hadn't seen Jolie almost the entire afternoon. He didn't know how to ask her, and it made things worse for him. And third, Jolie had been acting different these days. Very different.

"I just…" Remus stretched like Sirius, "I just hope she says yes."

There was a moment of silence before they heard a small creak from the door. They turned their heads towards the direction of the sound and saw Jolie entering the common room.

"Jo!" They all greeted her in unison. She smiled at them.

Sirius looked at his wrist. He wasn't wearing a watch. "Oh, look at the time. I better get going," then he faked a yawn. "I'm beat."

James beat around the bush as well. "I'm gonna go with Sirius. I'm pretty tired, too. I mean with all the Quidditch practice and all…" he trailed off.

Jolie snorted. "You don't have Quidditch training till next week."

"We like to keep in shape!" James defended, showing off his muscles on his arms.

"Whatever," Jolie closed the door. "Lily?"

"I'll just… go," Lily giggled.

In a snap, Sirius, James and Lily were all gone. "What in the world…?" Jolie put her hands on her hips. She and Remus were alone. He hadn't spoken.

Instead, he stood up from his chair, pulled Jolie towards him and kissed her quickly. "I haven't seen you the whole day," he complained.

"It's my birthday," Jolie answered, "I wanted to do something for myself."

"Well, as long as it made you happy."

Jolie lowered her eyes momentarily then smiled. She remembered again. "It did. Yeah, it made me happy. Real happy."

Still holding Jolie's hand Remus put one hand in his pocket. There was a moment of silence before he spoke. "Are you happy being with me?" Remus asked, a little out of place.

"What kind of question is that?" Jolie linked her arm to his, "Of course I am. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you, thank you for being a part of my life."

Remus looked at her. He clutched the velvet box in his pocket, but he didn't take it out. He took a deep breath. "I love you, too, Jolie Daniels Potter. So, so much. You have no idea." Remus held her hands.

There was a moment of silence. He could see Jolie's expression. She was wide-eyed, breathing deeply, but not saying anything. It could have been a look of anticipation, or fear, or shock. Whichever it was, it made Remus more nervous.

"Will you marry me?"

Jolie's expression didn't change.

There was silence. Cold, hard silence.

"Jo," Remus frowned, "say something…"

Jolie took her hands from his, and she clutched at his clothes. She clutched at them so hard, she could have ripped them off.

Remus still stood there, confused.

Jolie looked down at the floor. Instinctively, Remus did too, and suddenly, he saw why Jolie could not even speak.

She was standing in a pool of her own blood, which was trailing down from underneath her skirt to the floor.

Jolie broke down into tears hysterically.

"Jo?" Remus frowned and looked at her. "What's going on?" his tone was dripping with urgency.

She didn't answer. She let go of Remus' clothes, but wrapped her hands around her stomach and she slowly let herself down on the floor. Her skirt was drenched in blood.

Lily came out of the dormitory and rushed down to the common room. "Jo!" she screeched.

Jolie looked at Lily with a painful look as Lily's face was etched with shock. "Oh my God!"

James and Sirius seemed to have heard Lily—suddenly, they too turned up in the common room.

"James!" Jolie finally spoke, but she did so with difficulty.

James and Lily looked shocked, but they seemed to know what was going on. Remus and Sirius, however, did not.

Remus had no idea what was happening exactly, but he knew this wasn't something good. He picked Jolie up from the floor and carried her, rushing to the Hospital Wing.

Lily went with them.

James followed, but he was stopped by Sirius. "What's going on?" Sirius asked in a threatening voice.

The best friends stared at each other, James did not want to reveal Jolie's secret, but at the same time, he didn't see any reason to keep it. James pushed his glasses up his nose and bit his lip. He shook his head. Then he started going to the Hospital Wing, Sirius behind him.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Madam Pomfrey told them urgently.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Remus protested. Jolie sat on a bed, panting in pain. Lily was beside her, hissing nervously in her ear.

Madam Pomfrey shut the doors of the Hospital Wing closed.

Remus turned to face James. "You know something," he gritted his teeth. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?" He shouted.

James grabbed fistfuls of his hairs. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER!" He shouted back. James honestly didn't know.

Suddenly, a scream came from inside the Hospital Wing. James, Sirius and Remus jerked in shock. But suddenly, Sirius knew something. He recognized that scream.

"Jolie's pregnant, isn't she?" Sirius hissed. James didn't answer.

There was another scream.

"Oh my God…" Remus sat on the floor, losing strength, and he put a hand on his forehead. Then, suddenly, it all made sense to him. Everything made sense. He remembered that night… and it was only one time, just _once._

Sirius faced the door. "There's something wrong with the baby," he muttered. "She shouldn't be bleeding—"

"I'll never be able to forgive myself," Remus muttered through gritted teeth.

A third scream came from inside, and now, Remus was finally lost for words.

* * *

**okay. now, i really feel bad for dear Remus. :/ btw, it's a stillborn. oops, did i spoil it for you? =))**


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